


Then Gotham Forgot Their Name

by Dblukauskis



Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: Boys In Love, Declarations Of Love, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Killing, Love Confessions, Love Triangles, M/M, Multi, Murder, Physical Abuse, Polyamorous Character, Polyamory, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-29
Updated: 2018-08-27
Packaged: 2018-09-03 00:51:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 24
Words: 62,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8690197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dblukauskis/pseuds/Dblukauskis
Summary: More than 10 years ago, Jim lost someone he loved dearly, now in the middle of the night he gets a call from the past, a call he had been sure he would never get; yet here he is, torn between trying to figure out why she’s back and trying to enjoy the fact that she is now here, with him. But if Jim knows something about her, it’s that trouble always seems to follow and just when he’s about to put his guard down, Edward Nygma comes in.





	1. Midnight Calls

**Author's Note:**

> Jim gets an unexpected call from the past.

Jim groaned as the ring of the phone echoed throughout the apartment, he would have guessed that with all the midnight calls he got from the GCPD and Harvey, he would have been used to getting up in the middle of the night, but the truth was that it was always a pain to hear the phone ring in the middle of the night.

Next to him, Leslie rolled to her side, a soft frown drawing over her face as the phone kept on ringing, he glanced at her and with a huff he reached to the nightstand to grab his cellphone; his fingers curled around the object and he dragged it towards himself, looking down, expecting to see Harvey’s name flashing on the screen but instead he stared down at a locked phone.

“It’s the landline, Jim” Leslie’s voice echoed into the room, Jim frowned and glanced at her other his shoulder.

“No one ever calls to the landline” he whispered before pushing himself up and walking across the room, he expertly maneuvered around the discarded shoes and socks in the darkness of the apartment he shared with Leslie as the phone continued to drill into his brain.

When would he be able to get a decent sleep in this city?

“Never” he mumbled, he pushed the door of the room open and stepped into the chilly living room; he kicked the door close, in an attempt to keep the cold out of his room and hurried towards the small table next to their beige sofa.

He grabbed the phone from the table and leaned against the arm of the sofa as he pressed the phone against his ear.

“Hello?” he growled into the phone, obviously it wasn’t something from the department so whoever was calling was clearly annoying Jim with each passing second.

He heard a breath catching at the other end of the line and frowned, he leaned down over his knees and pinched the bridge of his nose as he closed his eyes.

“This better not be a joke” he hissed.

“Jim?”

His eyes popped open the second he heard the voice at the other end, his breath catching in his chest and his throat drying up instantly.

“Jim Gordon?” the soft voice asked again.

He heard something moving at the other end, probably a chair, yet he couldn’t really find the words to speak; so instead he cleared his throat and scratched his neck.

“Who is this?” he hissed into the receiver; his mind had to be playing games with him.

“Gordo” the nickname slamming into his ears like a bullet, his lips parted for a split second with shock before anger settled in.

“Is this a joke?” he sat down over the arm of the sofa.

“No” the voice was still a bit high pitched as he remembered.

“Maggie?” he whispered, the word trembling out of his lips.

“Jimmy” she chuckled at the other end of the line and Jim felt his heart contract in his chest, he glanced at the closed door of his room and then looked around the living room. “Are you there?”

“How are you?” he asked, the words coming out almost like one.

“Great” she answered, but Jim could detect the hint of a lie in her voice. “I’m great, how are you?”

Jim pressed his lips into a thin line, his mind swarming with memories, not all of them good, and his heart clenched in his chest as he remembered the last time he had seen her; the way she had screamed and kicked, the way she had cried out for him, the way she had been pulled into the car, the way she had just vanished into thin air.

Until now.

“How did you get this number?” he asked, instead of asking the burning question in his mind, while part of his brain begged to heaven that this was just a product of his imagination.

“Someone gave it to me today” she answered.

His attention was snapped towards the bedroom as he saw the light turning on, his hand clenching around the phone so hard his knuckles were turning white as he watched the gaped door of his room.

“Who gave you the number?” he asked, feelings mixing into each other as he tried to make sense to all the was happening; he pushed himself up, the floor seemed to be moving under his feet and his lungs were just not getting enough air.

“Someone at the office” she answered.

“Whose office?” he closed his eyes, trying to figure out how this had happened.

“Yours”                                  

“What?” he asked, he opened his eyes just as Leslie opened the door of the room to see what was taking Jim so long.

“I’m in town Jim” she answered to his unspoken question “And I’d really like to see you”

“Maggie, I – ” he whispered as Leslie walked up to him, a worried expression over her face.

“Willa” she said, her voice turning stern and harsh “My name is Willa now”


	2. Coffee and Questions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's a rainy day when Jim comes face to face with the past.

Jim hurried down the street, the rain was starting to fall harder and the wind was blowing faster, the small coffee shop he was heading to was just a few feet straight ahead of him and yet it felt like he was miles away from it. The dark sky that always seemed to hand over Gotham seemed darker and harsher that day, but then again maybe it was just the way Jim was feeling that day, to be exact, he had been feeling like that since he had gotten Maggie’s phone call in the middle of the night just two days ago.

His hand pushed against the crystal door just as lightning struck, his heart was beating rapidly in his chest and there was an anxious feeling in his body that he hadn’t felt in a long time; he stepped into the shop, water drops rolling down the sides of his face and onto his jacket, his body welcoming the warmth in the shop as he stepped inside and the door closed behind him.

The shop was full, the aroma of coffee filling his lungs as he scanned the place from his spot next to the door, a pair of waitresses were walking between the tables, taking orders and bringing them, the mood was something totally different from what was happening outside as the rain started to pour harder and Gotham was submerged into the darkness of yet another rainy day.

This wasn’t easy, but then again, things with Maggie had never been easy, with a deep breath Jim forced his eyes to scan the shop again; she had asked him to meet her there at two o’clock exactly and if Maggie was still how he remembered her, then she was already inside the coffee shop, because Maggie was never late.

“ _Then again, a lot of things change in ten years”_ he pointed out, he took a step forward into the shop and his eyes landed at the very end of the shop.

A blond woman was looking down at a book opened over the table, her hair flowing gently over her shoulder and her head propped over her hand as she flipped the page of the book; she turned the page and shifted her wrist to take a look at her watch just before she pulled her head away from her hand and turned to look at the door.

And their eyes met.

Jim felt the air in his lung freeze as her eyes pierced into him, and she looked nothing like she had the last time he had seen her; yet as she smiled, that slightly crocked smile of hers, he knew it was her, it was his Maggie.

She pushed herself up as Jim started to move around the tables to get to hers, her knees hitting the round table as she stood and making it rattle gently, but no one seemed to notice, everyone too immersed in their own little worlds to notice as Jim’s world was shaken violently.

“Gordo!” she exclaimed gently as soon as he reached the table, she took a step forward, her hands slightly reaching out in an attempt to hug him but then part of her seemed to protest and she stepped back and her hands dropped next to her.

The awkwardness settled between them for the first time since they had known each other.

“Sit down please” she said, signaling the chair across from the table, a high pitched tone in her voice; she dropped back over her chair without much thought as Jim wiggled out of his jacket and placed it behind the chair, he sat down slowly, his eyes over her. “I thought you weren’t going to come” she continued.

“I wasn’t” he finally found his voice, and it wasn’t a lie.

Her eyes seemed to lose a bit of their light but her smile remained over her face, his eyes scanned this new version of his Maggie, her hair was long and draped over her shoulder like the purest liquid gold unlike the pixie cut she had had the day she had been ripped out of his life and her eyes seemed bigger and lighter and the small scar she had over her eyebrow had been covered up with perfectly applied make up.

“You’re blond now” he whispered.

A small frown appeared over her face before her right hand reached out to touch her hair, a smile spreading over her face.

“I am” she nodded “I’ve been a blond for almost eight years now” she explained.

Jim glanced over his shoulder, his eyes landing over the door for a moment, he turned back to the young woman in front of him and he frown, anger slowly setting in his system.

“How are you?” she asked.

“What are you doing here?” he spat at her, his hands curling into fists over the table. “How long have you been here? Where were you all these years? Why did you come back after all this time?” his anger rising with every question that slipped out of his mouth, because Jim Gordon was a great detective, but his working skills had left the building the second he had set eyes on the first girl that had broken his heart.

She looked at him, her olive eyes scanning every inch of his face as she patiently waited for him to finish asking all he had wanted to ask when he had picked up the phone and realized it was Maggie at the other side of the line. She cocked her head to the left as she watched him, as she examined how much he had changed since she had been gone, how many details were new to him, how many of the old ones had disappeared, yet she could still see the fifteen year old Jim Gordon she had seen just before the door of the car had been slammed in her face.

“Margaret, are you listening to me?”

Her hand shot out to reach for his, her smooth palm landing over his balled fist gently “Willa” she said, her lips quivering into a weak smile “My name is Wilhelmina Argent, now” his frown got deeper “Margaret Shay doesn’t exist anymore, Jim” she made a pause “I got here like two weeks ago” she answered, her hand slipped away from his but she leaned gently over the table as a waitressed walked up to them; the woman slowly placed a cup of coffee in front of Willa and then scurried away, sensing the tension at the table.

“You got here two weeks ago and you just called me two days ago?” he asked, the bitterness palpable in his voice.

“The manager at the hotel I’m staying said you worked at the GCPD, but it still took me three days to get your number” she explained, her eyes dropped to the cup, she picked it up with both hands and smiled as the warmth of the ceramic spread up her hands “The rest was me gathering the courage to call you”

“A week to gather courage?” he narrowed his eyes, “I waited for you call for years” he said, and he knew he was being unfair, but was she aware of how much pain he had been through after she had been taken away?

She looked down at her mug and pressed her lips into a thin line before she placed the cup over the table “I wanted to call you, Jim, every day at every waking hour” and there was a strain in her voice that cracked his anger, his frown softened, she shifted her jaw before she looked up at him “You should have known I wasn’t going to call, there was never a day I was without Cillian’s supervision, they weren’t going to risk it, you knew how they were”

“Is Cillian here?” asked Jim.

“No” she shook her head, her hair flopping around her gracefully “I haven’t seen him in years, five to be exact”

“Your parents?”

“They died a couple of years ago” she answered, her fingers tapping over the clear porcelain of the coffee mug; he looked down at her hands.

“Where were you?” he finally asked, she looked at him, his eyes focused on the movement of her fingers “All these years, where were you?” he looked up at her.

“Different places” she answered vaguely.

“Where were you?” he asked again “Where were you while I waited next to the phone for you to call?”

“Do be like that” she whispered, her fingers stopped moving “I would have never left you if it had been up to me”

One of her hands slipped away from the mug and reached out to him, her hand squeezing his fingers gently, he looked at her and he could feel the frustration from her vague answers.

“You are the reason I came back here” she continued “Rome, Budapest, Abu Dhabi, Argentina, there was never a moment I didn’t think about Gotham, about you” she leaned closer to the table “You are the only person I’ve ever had” she pulled her hand away and Jim missed the contact instantly.

“I need to go” he finally said, this was too much, he couldn’t deal with this right now; he pushed his chair back and stood up, grabbing his jacket harshly, he stepped away from the table, but her fingers wrapped around his and he turned to look at her.

“I know you’re hurt” she whispered, and the joy she had had when they had locked eyes was gone “But I wasn’t the one who hurt you” her left hand reached out to their holding hands “I would never hurt you, Gordo, and you know that” she pulled his hand up to her lips and she kissed his knuckles right before she let go of his hand “Just in case you want to talk” her left hand handed him a black card with delicate silver letters.

Jim doubted for a moment before he took the card, and her eyes shined as he took her peace offering, he pushed the card into his pants without looking at it before he turned around and made a beeline towards the door of the coffee shop.

 

___________//____________

 

Harvey glanced at Jim from over the newspaper he was reading, an eyebrow up as he examined the way Jim was tapping his pen against the desk absentmindedly, his eyes locked over a file he had over the desk but the last time Harvey had looked at Jim, he had been on the same page he was now. The older man folded the newspaper and leaned forward slowly, his eyes not leaving Jim but he could read the tension emanating from the blond detective, Harvey’s eyes glanced at the pen he was tapping against the desk and he noticed something he hadn’t before.

“Hey, Boy Scout” said Harvey, Jim didn’t even seem to have heard him, he rolled his eyes and swatted the newspaper towards Jim; the younger detective flinched and looked up at Harvey, his eyes shooting daggers.

“What?” he barked.

“What’s wrong?” asked Harvey.

“Nothing”

Harvey’s eyebrow went up, he placed the paper over his desk and leaned over it with his elbows as he looked at his partner.

“Is this about that mystery meeting you had during lunch break?”

“It wasn’t a mystery meeting” answered Jim “I told you I was meeting with an old friend”

“Then why the long face?” asked Harvey, Jim narrowed his eyes.

“I’m just tired” said Jim.

“Really? Then it has nothing to do with the lipstick on your knuckles?”

Jim’ eyes darted instantly towards the hand that Willa had kissed and he noticed the soft tint of the pink lipstick she had been wearing, he looked at his hand for a few seconds before he looked up at Harvey.

“It’s not what you are thinking” Jim explained.

“It’s not?” Harvey asked, leaning back over his chair.

“No” said Jim, his eyes fierce and his voice steady “She’s just a friend” he shrugged and dropped the pen he was holding before he started to rub the lipstick away from his skin.

“Do I know her?” asked Harvey.

“No” Jim shook his head “She’s not from Gotham, she’s just visiting”

“Is that so?”

“Are you done with your questioning?” he hissed, looking at Harvey from under his lashes.

“No” Harvey shrugged “Does Leslie know her?”

“Not yet” answered Jim, “No one knows her, she’s not from Gotham, are you even listening to me?” Harvey rolled his eyes and grabbed his newspaper once more.

But it was a lie, Jim had opened up about Willa to someone a few years ago, to only that one person.

Barbara Kean.

 


	3. First Jobs and Contact Info

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Willa meets with her first client and Edward has to deal with unwanted visits.

Her reunion with Jim had gone like is should have been expected, he had been angry, he had had questions and he had left abruptly, still she was hurt, not by him, never by him, just by the way things had turned out. But despite the way her heart had clenched in her chest as she watched him go, Willa had finished her coffee, she had picked up her book and pushed it into her handbag before she paid and left to meet with a client.

She was here for Jim but she still had to make a living if she wanted to stay in Gotham.

The heavy rain that had been falling when Jim arrived to the coffee shop had turned into a drizzle, the drops falling rhythmically over her umbrella as she walked down the street; after being so many years away from Gotham, Willa had forgotten how the city always managed to look so grey and dark no matter what season, yet her heart felt light, like it hadn’t felt in years and the pressure on her chest was gone.

She was happy despite everything.

Her heels clicked as she took a turn around a corner and the massive and high-class building she was looking for appeared at the end of the street; her light pink lights quirked into a smile, her sense in navigating the city was intact, almost as if she had never left, reminding her instantly of the days she would sneak away from her apartment to see Jim and walk around the city aimlessly most of the times.

The young woman quickened her pace, walking as close to the buildings as she could, the last thing she wanted was for a car to splash rain water against her while she was on her way to her first real job in Gotham.

Willa stopped in front of the building she was supposed to be at, she climbed the stairs, closing the umbrella, gently she placed the umbrella against the wall and looked at her watch, she was ten minutes early. The young woman glanced at the buzzer and read the names, she knew what floor it was, she just wanted to see if someone on the building might also be someone from her past life; turning into Willa had been easier when she hadn’t been in the city that had seen Maggie grow.

“ _You can do this”_ she told herself as her index finger reached out to press the buzzer “ _You’ve survived worse”_ she took a deep breath and pressed the button, releasing it after three seconds.

“Faletti Residence” spoke a stern voice at the other end of the buzzer a few seconds later.

“Good afternoon, this is Wilhelmina Argent, Mrs. Faletti has an appointment with me” Willa explained, she glanced down at her watch as she released the button, waiting for an answer.

But she didn’t get a verbal confirmation, instead the heavy glass door next to her ringed loudly, she jolted softly as she turned to look at the door and rapidly pushed it open before the ringing could stop and she had to call to be allowed in again. She pushed her left foot against the door to hold it and reached for her umbrella, if there was something that should never be missing from anyone’s handbag in Gotham it had to be an umbrella.

With a grunt she pushed the door fully open and walked inside the building, her heels clicking against the marble floors as she made her way towards the elevator; she could feel her heart beating rapidly in her chest, she was good at her job, she knew that but the thing about this job was that if she landed it, she could get recommended and if she failed she was sure she would have to get a new job to make a living in Gotham.

The elevator ride was short but it was enough for Willa to look at her reflection and make sure that everything about her appearance was the way it should; if her job had taught her something it was that visuals were more than enough to trick people. She turned away from the mirror as soon as the elevator beeped and she stepped towards the door as they slid open to reveal a wooden door that was being held open by a stern looking man.

“Good afternoon” she said, stretching her hand out to the man “Wilhelmina Argent”

“Good afternoon” said the man, he took her hand and shook it “Mrs. Faletti is waiting for you in the living room”

“Of course” she nodded, she stepped inside as the man moved away from the door and closed it gently behind her.

“I’ll take your coat” he continued “And your umbrella”

“Oh, right, yes” she handed him the umbrella and shrugged off the black long coat she was wearing; his calloused hands helped her pull off the coat before he started to walk past her.

Willa allowed the man to walk past her before she started to follow him, he stopped in front of a white door and pulled it open, he hanged her coat and placed her umbrella against the wall before he started to move once more without saying a word.

With her handbag hanging from her shoulder, Willa looked around the house as they walked towards the living room, the decoration seemed a bit excessive and the amount of color around was a bit too much, taking away from the elegance that tried to pop out from under the chaos of different styles and colors and decorative objects.

“Mrs. Faletti” spoke the man, his voice had softened and he came to a stop, Willa stopped behind him. “Wilhelmina Argent is here to see you”

“Oh wonderful!” a cheerful voice exclaimed before a middle aged woman in a long blue dress came into view, and everything about her had nothing to do with the excessiveness of the apartment. “Ms. Argent, how great to have you here”

“Mrs. Faletti, the pleasure is all mine” smiled Willa, she extended her hand out to the woman “I’m really glad you called me”

“Oh dear” she chuckled, the man moved away and the woman signaled Willa to enter the living room “What Gotham needed was someone like you” she explained as she lead Willa towards the white sofa “Sit down dear”

Willa sat down gently and placed her handbag over her lap as the woman continued to talk.

“We needed vision from the younger generations, and I’m pretty sure you have seen how gloomy Gotham can be sometimes, the last thing I want is to come back to an apartment that has so many things it’s a chaos in itself”

“ _Agreed”_ whispered Willa to herself.

“So, when can you begin?”

“Right now” nodded Willa “I just need to know what you would like, what style and I can go from there, I’d come up with a few ideas and I’ll bring them to you” explained Willa, she opened her bag and pulled out a small agenda and a pen “We’ll work together, obviously, but as soon as you give me information, I can start to create ideas for you and when I bring them over you can tell me what you like and what you don’t until we have something that you will love to come home to”

“Perfect!” smiled the woman “Ask away darling, lets get this chaos under control”

And Willa chuckled as she looked at the enthusiastic woman; maybe coming back to Gotham hadn’t been a bad idea after all.

 

___________//____________

 

Edward walked into the office, a few files under his arm, his mind already going over all the other things he had to do; being Oswald’s Chief of Staff was demanding and Edward liked to stay on top of everything, making sure things were being done accordingly and not mediocrely, so in retrospective, his job consisted of a lot more than just Chief of Staff.

He walked over to the desk and placed the files over it, he walked around it and grabbed the agenda he had with all the places Oswald would have to be that week; he narrowed his eyes behind his glasses as he made a mental note to ask his secretary about the details of one of the locations.

The young woman that worked as Edward’s secretary and just about anything else that was needed around the chaotic place, walked into the office, her knuckles tapping against the door frame as Edward flipped the page of his agenda.

 The tall man’s head snapped up, his glasses sliding down his nose slightly as he focused his eyes over the young woman.

“Ms. Summers” he nodded, his eyebrow rising.

“Mr. Nygma” she said as she stepped into the office “Mr. Pines is here” she explained, she glanced over her shoulder “He said he wanted to talk to you about one of the appearances of Mr. Cobblepot” she added as she turned to look at him.

“Yes, yes” Edward nodded “Send him in” he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

Mr. Pines was not exactly the most pleasant person involved in Oswald’s campaign and Edward had been aware that they would have to deal with the man for a long time if Oswald became mayor of Gotham; and now that he was, Edward had not been wrong.

Ms. Summer turned on her heels and walked out of the office, Edward close the agenda and set it down, the last thing he needed right now was Pines trying to snoop around the office; it angered Edward and the last few days he had been having trouble controlling a few of his impulses.

“Edward!” exclaimed that annoyingly booming voice that belonged to Pines.

Edward looked up at the door as the blond man walked into the office, he forced a smile to his face as Marcel Pines walked towards Edward.

“Mr. Pines” nodded Edward.

“Come on, we’ve known each other for a while, call me Marcel” chuckled the handsome man, he looked around the office and sighed “Gloomy as always, isn’t?” he turned to Edward.

“Doesn’t really bother me” answered Edward.

“I can see that” shrugged Marcel, he walked towards the sofa and pushed his hands into his pockets as he turned to look at Edward “Not really what you would expect from the Mayor, don’t you think?”

“What exactly is that supposed to mean?” asked Edward, his eyes narrowing and his patience running thin.

Marcel shrugged, “People think it’s not very welcoming”

“Is that why you are here?” asked Edward “To talk about the décor in Mr. Cobblepot’s office? I thought you were here for the details of the appearance he will make at the charity event hosted by your in laws”

And like always, Marcel seemed oblivious to Edward’s irritation towards him; the man always seemed to energetic and ready to look for someone to annoy.

“For the event” answered Marcel “But since I’m already here, I thought it would be a good thing to address seeing this is the public office”

Edward laced his hands behind his back and looked at Marcel, his parents and in laws were incredibly influential in Gotham and they had invested in Oswald’s campaign not only with money but helping with the appearances as well; which meant that lashing out at Marcel was not the best idea and Edward knew that perfectly clear.

“I appreciate your concern” Ed managed to say “And about the event…

“I have a contact that could be useful” Marcel cut right into his sentence and Edward balled his hands into fists behind his back “Well, not me, but my mother in law” he explained, his right hand tracing over the sofa “She has the name of someone that could help with the image of this office” he frowned and turned to Edward “Make it more amicable, you know?”

“Like I said, Mr. Pines, I appreciate your concern”

Marcel nodded and in a swift movement pulled out his phone from his expensive tailored pants, he typed down as Edward started to move the conversation to relevant topics.

“And about the event, as soon as the schedule is ready I will make sure you get a copy” he explained “No need to worry, Mr. Cobblepot appreciates both your family and your in laws and he will more than gladly attend to the event”

“Perfect” nodded Pines “I’m sending you the contact info about the interior designer I’m telling you about” he looked at his phone for a few more seconds before he looked at Edward. “I understand that he likes darker themes, but what the public sees is also important and this places is a bit depressing”

In the pocket of his pants Edward felt his phone buzzing twice with the text that Marcel had just sent him; he gave the man a strained smile and pulled his hands from behind his back to retrieve his phone. Edward pulled the phone out of his pocket and looked down at it, the least he could do to get this man out of the office was indulge him in his crazy desire to change the office.

“Thank you” Edward finally said, “I’ll be sure to ask my secretary to call”

“Great” smiled Marcel “You are a reasonable man, Ed, and I’m sure you two will make Gotham what it used to be”

“We sure hope so” nodded Edward.

“Well, be sure to send me the details of the event” Marcel nodded “My mother and my mother in law are ecstatic that Mr. Cobblepot will be attending and would like to have everything ready”

“Of course” said Edward “Mr. Cobblepot wouldn’t miss it for anything”

“Perfect” Marcel smiled and Edward felt an urge to hurl the landline at his face and beat him with it “Always great to see you Ed, I’ll talk to you later, I have places to go”

“ _I’m sure you do”_ hissed Edward.

Marcel Pines turned on his heels and walked towards the door, his eyes over the phone as he typed and Edward’s eyes attached to his back as he watched him leave; he made an effort not to cringe as he slowly placed his phone down and took a deep breath.

“Ms. Summers!” he called, the anger evident in his voice, yet he had to let some steam out or he would end up strangling Marcel the next time he saw him.

Edward hear the rapid clicking and clacking of heels, his head snapping up to the doorframe just as the young woman with short red hair entered the office, a notepad in her hands and her eyes over him.

“What can I do for you Mr. Nygma?” she asked, and even then her eagerness to help seemed to bother Edward.

“I’m going to send you a contact name, I would like you to call and arrange a meeting for tomorrow here at the office” Edward explained “If the meeting is unable to take place tomorrow, don’t bother to make another appointment”

“Of course” she nodded, scribbling down what Edward had said.

The Chief of Staff didn’t have time to waste on interior designs, if Gotham had chosen Oswald despite his dark décor tastes then they would have to deal with it now that he was Mayor; but just to get Marcel and his pretentious fiancé off his back, Edward would grant his contact one phone call and that was it.

“That’s all” Edward said, his voice returning to normal.

“I will let you know as soon as I make the call”

And with that Melinda Summers turned around and headed back to her own desk, Edward grabbed his phone and with a sigh he sent his secretary the phone number that Marcel had just forced him to have.

Edward placed the phone down and walked towards the chair of the desk, he pulled it out and sat down, he had a million other things to worry about other than how gloomy or depressive the people of Gotham thought Oswald’s office felt.

Ms. Summers looked down at the contact she had just received and pressed the call button; she placed her phone against her ear and glanced at the door of Mr. Nygma’s and Mr. Cobblepot’s office, whatever the handsome Mr. Pines had said, had left Edward in a terrible mood. The ringing of the phone stopped and Ms. Summers turned her attention to her notepad, in case she was able to land the appointment she had to make sure to write down all the details.

“This is Wilhelmina Argent, what can I help you with?” said the person at the other end of the line.


	4. Broken Hearts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A trip to the past, to the last day Jim saw Maggie (Willa).

The city had been blessed with a high and burning sun that day, shining against the water of the river and the wind was blowing gently and refreshingly; a complete turn from the heavy rain that had taken over the Gotham weather for the last few days.

They were sitting on the fire escape stairs of an old an building that had been forgotten by the docks, Jim was leaning over the dirty handrail, his chin resting over his arms as his eyes watched the slow movement of the water ahead of them; he had always liked it there, were no one could see them, were there was no danger, just the two of them.

Maggie had her head against his shoulder, her hands over her lap and her eyes closed, the soft wind ruffled her short hair as they sat in comfortable silence; Jim took a deep breath, one of the few sunny days in Gotham that year and yet it had been darkened by the bruise that Maggie had over her pale face.

“What happens now?” he asked.

“Nothing” she answered “Like always, you know that” she lifted her head and turned to look at him, he could feel her eyes over him, inspecting every wave of his hair and the way his body tensed before he turned to look at her.

“We should tell someone” he said.

“Who are we gonna tell, Jim?” she asked “No one is going to care, he’ll just pay someone to forget about it”

“He can’t keep doing this” his voice turned angry, he pulled his hands away from the handrail and his right hand reached out to her face, he cupped it and she moved it gently so he could get a better look at the bruise. “Maggie” he whispered “Let me help you”

“No” she said, she looked at him, the only person she cared about “He’ll hurt you” she reached up and took his hand in hers and held it over her lap “I’m gonna be fine, I’m not even there when he hits me, I block it out”

“That doesn’t make it alright”

“You’re right” she nodded “But it’s the way it is, he’ll stop doing it eventually”

“How do you know that?” he asked, a worried frown over his face.

“Trust me, ok?”

“You know I do” he sighed, a bit defeated.

It had been almost two years since the last time Maggie had showed up with a bruise, and he had wanted to believe it was over, that the beatings had stopped; but then that day he had seen her waiting for him down the street and his heart had dropped to his stomach, she was wearing his hooded jacket with the hood up but still he had seen the dark mark over her face and his heart had broken painfully. Maggie on the other hand had smiled cheerfully and had announced that she had a carving for donuts, she had linked their arms together and she had lead him down the street talking and joking and the broken parts of his heart had shined with her optimism.

“How long was the last time we had such a sunny day here?” asked Maggie, her hands still around his as she looked around; they always sat on the last floor.

“I think about five months” he answered, knowing that the conversation about the bruise would have to wait for later.

“God, I almost forgot how the sun looked like”

Jim laughed and glanced at her, his eyebrow up as she closed her eyes against the warm rays of the sun, he squeezed her hand and she opened her right eye and looked at him before opening her left one.

“Let’s hope the sky doesn’t fall tomorrow” said Jim.

“Don’t get your hopes up, Gordo” she shrugged, she let go of his hand and leaned over the handrails as he looked at her; she was beautiful in a sharp way were her skin seemed to be made of porcelain but he knew her bones were made of steel and that in her veins ran wildfire.

“Am I going to get that jacket back?” he asked mockingly.

“You know the answer to that” she smiled, she turned her head to him.

Her parents had money, a lot to be honest, but there was nothing she would like to wear more than Jim’s jackets, he had given her two and the one she was wearing at the moment was the one she liked the most; it was military green and it was too big for her, but she loved it, she loved it because it was his. Jim smiled and rolled his eyes, it didn’t bother him that she kept his jackets, in fact he loved it, that at least part of him was with her when she had to go back to that hellish apartment, because at least he could be with her somehow when things got nasty at home.

“Well, well, well” the hoarse voice echoed from behind them loud and clear.

Jim’s head snapped over his shoulder, his blood freezing in his veins as he recognized the voice; inside the abandoned apartment and just a few feet away from the window stood Cillian Shay, his hair combed back and his hands inside the pockets of his dark jeans and that evil smirk over his lips only made the hair on the back of Jim’s neck stand straight.

“What are you doing here?” asked Maggie, she had narrowed her eyes and was looking at her brother like he was the filthiest thing to ever grace the earth.

“I came to collect you” explained Cillian “Father sent me” he started to walk towards the window “He wants you back home now”

Jim watched him move towards them, Maggie’s hands left the handrail, one of them landing over Jim’s hand.

“Go” he whispered.

And before Cillian reached the window, Maggie was scrambling towards the stair of the fire escape; she jumped down the stair to the fire escape below and Jim followed, his heart was beating madly in his chest as the young woman kept rushing down stairs after stairs to get to the first floor. His jacket was flying behind her as her tennis shoes slammed against the metal of the fire escape and Jim followed without hesitation.

With the agility and precision she had acquired through the years of ballet, Maggie landed on the pavement just below the fire escape, she moved aside and Jim crashed down next to her ungracefully; her hand reached for his arm and she tugged him up to his feet, he stumbled forward but grabbed her hand and they started to run away from the building.

They took a curve behind the building and pain exploded in Jim’s face as a fist hit him and he stumbled back, his hand releasing Maggie’s as he crashed over his back on the floor and the blood gushed out of his nose, his eyes watering as his lungs tried to get air. Maggie’s head turned to Jim as he crashed on the floor and rage erupted in her as she saw the blood coming out of his nose, she turned around to the man in front of her, one of her father’s body guards and she screamed as she launched forward.

Her extended hand was grabbed midair painfully, the man’s fingers digging into her skin as he raised her hand to keep her from hitting him; but Maggie, like Jim knew, was a force to be reckoned with and her right leg shot up and she hit the man right between the legs. He grunted loudly and painfully, his grip around her hand vanishing as he closed his eyes and bent forward, Maggie growled and grabbed the back of his head, her fingers threading through the man’s slick red hair and she brought her knee up, hitting his face with it twice before she pushed him back and he crashed over his back.

“Run, Mags” said Jim, he had pushed himself up to his feet, tears of pain rushing down his face, mixing with the blood; she turned to look at him, her feet stepping towards him before a pair of rough and strong arms wrapped around her, lifting her up and she screamed.

“NO!” her legs started to kick “JIM!”

Jim rushed towards her as the man stepped back with Maggie in his arms but a third man appeared and grabbed his arm painfully, yanking him back and away from Maggie.

“MAGGIE!” he screamed, he turned to the man and pulled, but the man grabbed his free arm and pulled them behind his back, his muscles screaming at the strain, his eyes darted towards the young woman.

“JIM!” she screamed, her legs kicked and her arms flying around as she tried to scratch and punch “LET ME GO!” she roared, she threw her head back, trying to hit the man with the back of her head but it was useless.

“MAGGIE!” he screamed, pulling forward, his arm and shoulders exploding with pain but his chest was rising and falling rapidly as he watched a black car pull over just as Cillian appeared from the back door of the room “MAGGIE!”

“GET OFF OF ME!” he could hear the terror in her voice as she saw the car even if Jim could only see the back of the man holding Maggie, he could hear the horror “PLEASE CILLIAN!” but Cillian said nothing as he walked towards the passenger door and climbed inside the car.

And they were just a few feet away from each other, yet to Jim it felt like he was watching from the other side of the street, watching as the door of the car was pushed open and Maggie’s screams became a lot higher, he gapped his lips as the bodyguard held him back.

Maggie looked over her shoulder as she was pushed inside the car and their eyes locked, her eyes horrified, tears rushing down her face and his heart started to race faster as he looked at her.

“JIM!” she screamed and the door was slammed close and the car speed away and Jim’s arms were released and he crashed over his knees as the bodyguard walked around him and helped the man that Maggie had kicked to get up.

It had taken Jim a few minutes to recover from everything that he had just seen and felt, but before he knew it, he had pushed himself up to his feet and he was running down the docks, his lungs hurting from the strained breathing he was doing thanks to his broken nose and his arms were aching but he had to get to her apartment; he had to make sure she was alright, he had to make sure that no one hit her again.

And Jim ran down the streets of Gotham with the sun high and the wind blowing, he had ran past the laughing people, past the joy of others, he had pushed his way down the streets as he took curves and crossed the streets without checking stoplights. He reached her apartment building with sweat rolling down his face, his lungs screaming and dried blood over his nose and shirt, he slowed down and walked around the building towards the fire escape, and with much effort he started to climb up to the Pent House.

“ _Oh god please_ ” he had thought as he climbed up “ _Please be ok_ ” he felt his heart in his throat as he thought that maybe she would be getting a beating.

He reached the floor and froze in his place at what he saw.

Men were moving around the furniture of the living room, no, not moving around, they were taking out the furniture, pulling down the paintings from the walls, putting in boxes whatever they found around.

“What the fuck?” he whispered as realization settled in; they were emptying the apartment.

He backed away, his mind screaming, he turned around and climbed down the fire escape just as fast as he had done with Maggie; his heart was aching when he reached the floor. Jim covered his mouth with his left hand as he tried to figure out what to do, where to go, he looked around the street as a moving car pulled over to the building, this couldn’t be happening, Maggie hadn’t said anything about moving from the apartment.

“ _Cillian_ ” he thought, his veins fueling with anger before he turned around and dashed once more down the streets as the sun above slowly started to set.

The night was a soft shade of blue when Jim finally found the person he had been looking for, he had walked down and up every street, he had checked parks, restaurants and a few stores until he had finally gotten a glimpse of Maggie’s ex-boyfriend and Cillian’s best friend. The young man was walking down the street with a group of friends, his lips in a smile and a few of the girls he was with where laughing.

Jim narrowed his eyes as he watched Clint walk down the street, he glanced down the street to check that he could cross it without getting hit by a car and when it was clear he marched down the street; anger and hurt and confusion and determination fuming out of him.

“Rendell!” Jim barked, the group turned to look at him as Jim pushed away a girl with long black hair and her boyfriend.

Clint frowned and opened his mouth to speak but Jim grabbed him by the collar of the shirt and shoved him back against the wall; the group around him gasped and one of the other boys stepped forward, Jim seeing the movement by the rear of his eyes.

“Back off!” he hissed as he held the collar of Clint’s shirt tighter and Clint gasped for air, the other young man stopped but the group tightened around Jim “Where is she?” hissed Jim as he looked at Clint.

“What are you talking about?” Clint barked through gritted teeth.

“You know what I’m talking about, where is Maggie?”

“I don’t know, I haven’t seen her in weeks” Clint answered as Jim held him pinned against the wall “Check the apartment”

“They are emptying the place”

“Oh” and something shined behind Clint’s eyes as he smirked despite the pain, because at least he had won something over Jim Gordon “Didn’t she tell you?”

“Tell me what?”

“They are moving” said Clint “I thought it would be next week, but guess not”

“Moving where?” and Clint saw the confusion in Jim’s eyes.

“Out of the country” hissed Clint.

Jim’s hands let go of Clint’s collar and he took a step back as he frowned and looked at the young man, Clint straightened up but kept his back pressed against the wall, and he rejoiced in Jim’s pain, he was glad that Jim was hurting just like Clint had had to bare the humiliation of being left by Maggie and having to watch her roam around the city with a guy like James Gordon.

“What?” said Jim.

Clint smirked “Guess you weren’t that special in the end” he straightened his shirt “Her father has been planning this for two months” his smirk was tainted with delight “Of all the people in Gotham I thought you would have known, Gordon, I mean didn’t she say she loved you?” and he laughed before he started to walk away, the rest of the group glancing at Jim before they followed after Clint.

And Jim stood in the street, his mind threatening to explode as his heart ached and he frowned, looking down at the pavement; this couldn’t be happening, she couldn’t be leaving, she couldn’t just be gone and that’s that, it had to be a joke, a mistake.

“ _You know better than to think that_ ” his mind whispered to him “ _You saw the apartment, she’s gone, she’s gone_ ”

Jim had walked home that night, under the full moon and the thousand diamond stars, he had walked up the stairs of his apartment, his mother had been worried, she had asked about the blood on his face and on his shirt, but Jim hadn’t been able to answer and she had stopped asking as soon as she had seen the pain in his eyes.

Jim squirmed out of the jacket he had on and placed it over the sofa and then he had walked towards his room that night feeling like he weighted a million ponds, his legs were aching, his arms were bruised, his nose was possibly broken; he kicked his shoes off and dropped himself over his bed, slowly curling himself into a ball and he had lay there, with his face covered in dried blood, his legs strained and his nose broken but most of all with his fifteen year old heart shattered.


	5. Meetings and Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Willa has a meeting with the Chief of Staff.

Willa stepped out of the cab, her nervousness was as strong as the way the wind was blowing, pushing her hair over her shoulders and making it dance around her as she started to walk towards the building in front of her; she had woken up early that morning, her anxiousness keeping the sleep at bay, not only from having a meeting with the mayor’s right hand but also because her heart was still in ache for Jim’s silence.

Her right hand pressed over her skirt to smooth down the dark green fabric, she took a deep breath and stopped in front of the short stairs that would lead up to the door of the office building; when she had lived in Gotham she had seen the building a few times, especially when she had been in the company of her brother.

Her high heels clicked softly as she climbed the stairs, shielding herself from the wind and her long hair dropped over her shoulders; her left hand was clutching her handbag and her heart was beating hard as she reached the door and pushed it open.

The building was buzzing with energy, the young woman walked further inside the building, she looked around as a young man walked past her, files pressed against his chest, she stepped away from his way as he hurried to reach a set of stairs. Willa looked down at her watch, making sure she was still ahead of time and that she wouldn’t be late to her meeting at the mayor’s office; if she wanted to thrive in Gotham as this new persona, she had to make sure to get this job and to make it right.

With the technique that she had perfected throughout years, she turned on the heels of her shoes and marched down the hallway to look for a desk where someone could help her get to the office of Mr. Edward Nygma. Willa made her way down the hallway, her eyes snapping around the place, looking for someone until her eyes landed over a man typing rapidly on a computer.

“Good morning” said Willa, stopping in front of the desk, his eyes darted from the file he was looking at but his fingers kept typing as he looked at the young woman looking at him.

“Good morning, ma’am” he answered, Willa smiled at him shortly.

“I have an appointment with Mr. Nygma” she explained “Could you direct me to where I could find him?”

“Oh, yes, of course!” he stopped typing and stood up, he leaned over the desk and Willa took a step back as he leaned towards her; the man pointed down the hall she had just walked through and glanced at her “Down the hall you’ll find a set of stairs” he explained “Up the stairs and you’ll find Mr. Nygma at the last office down the hallway”

“Thank you” she nodded, the man gave her a polite smile before he slumped back down over the chair and started to type once more.

Willa looked at him for a few seconds before she turned and started to walk down the hallway to reach the stairs; the building was buzzing with energy but still not much light filtered into the place from the windows, making the inside of the place a lot colder than Willa was sure it would be if the sun in Gotham wasn’t always obscured by the clouds.

She scanned the paintings and the décor of the place as she climbed up the stairs and then made her way across the hallway, everything matching the usual decorations that could be found all around the city; with its dark and usually humid climate, the people of Gotham had adopted a rather dark and somber decorating style that was making Willa feel more at home with each passing day.

“Good morning” said a soft voice, directly behind Willa.

An energetic young woman made her way around Willa, her clothes elegant as could be, she had a file in her hands and a questioning look over her face as she looked at Willa, everything about the woman seemed appropriate to be part of the building and the people who worked there.

“Good morning” said Willa.

“What can I help you with?” asked the young woman, she started to move towards a desk next to the door that lead to the last office; she placed the files over the ddesk and turned to look at Willa.

“I haven an appointment with Mr. Nygma” explained Willa, she extended her hand out to the young woman. “My name is Wilhelmina Argent”

“Oh” the young woman beamed and she smiled “Ms. Argent! I talked to you yesterday, Melinda Summers” she shook her hand and gave her a numb.

“Nice to meet you”

“Mr. Nygma was expecting you at eight”

“I know” nodded Willa, “I just like to be early to my appointments” she explained “I don’t mind waiting, it’s just ten minutes before eight”

“Of course, take a seat” she motioned towards a few chairs against a wall “I will let him know you are here in case he can see you now”

“Thank you”

Willa moved towards the chair as Melinda hurried towards the door, her heels almost soundless as she moved across the floor; Willa set her handbag over the chair but remained standing in case she was called into the office.

“Mr. Nygma” said Melinda as she stepped into the office, Mr. Cobblepot was yet to arrive to the downtown office and while he was attending other matters from his home office, Mr. Nygma was the man in charge of the building.

“Ms. Summers” he said without looking up from the file he wanted Oswald to read about the Arkham Asylum.

“Your eight o’clock appointment is here” she explained “Ms. Argent, the interior designer” Edward groaned softly and looked up at Melinda, he narrowed his eyes for a second and looked down at his watch.

“She’s early”

“She is sir” nodded Melinda “I can ask her to wait until eight if you’d like”

“No, no” Edward shook his head “Send her in” he sighed “ _The sooner we get this over with, the better”_ he told himself as Melinda turned away to look for the interior designer.

Edward pushed himself up to his feet as he heard the soft clicking of heels, Melinda was usually almost soundless, he buttoned up his jacket and pressed his hands over the fabric before he stood straight and turned his attention to the door. A young blond woman walked in the office, a gentle smile was drawn over her face and a handbag was held in her left hand as she stepped inside and her eyes landed over Edward.

“Mr. Nygma” said Melinda, Edward not noticing she had walked in “This is Wilhelmina Argent” she explained.

“Thank you” said Edward, she nodded and turned away as Willa walked further into the room.

Edward walked up towards her, his unwillingness to call and set the meeting with the woman didn’t diminish his good manners; he extended his hand out to her and she took it and gave it a firm shake before they pulled away.

“Mr. Nygma” she said kindly.

“Ms. Argent” he said back “I’m glad you could make it”

“How could I refuse” she smiled.

“Please” he motioned towards the sofa and the arm chairs in the office “Have a seat”

“Thank you” she nodded shortly and walked towards the first armchair as Edward followed and headed towards the sofa. “Mr. Nygma, your secretary didn’t really mention what you were looking to get out of this meeting, so I wasn’t really able to bring anything to show you except a few other designs if you would like to look at them”

“Ms. Argent” sighed Edward and Willa felt her heart beat faster, not really sure if this meeting was going like she wanted to. “I’m sure you are aware that Mr. Cobblepot is a very busy man”

“I’m sure he is” she nodded, pushing her feet under the armchair and crossing them at the ankles as she placed her hands over her lap.

“He has to attend a lot of meetings, not to mention the people that he meets with here in the office” he frowned as he looked at her. “Gotham is a city that needs a lot of improvement”

“I agree” she whispered, her eyes scanning Edward’s frame as he talked.

“Well, a few of the people that he meets here have let me know that they believe the office is rather… he let his voice trail as he glanced around for a second “Dark, even a bit depressing”

Willa tore her eyes away from the man and glanced around the office, her eyes taking in all the detail she could find as fast as she could before she turned to look at Edward.

“One of these people recommended I call you” he added, he laced his fingers together and Willa couldn’t help but notice that every one of his movements was elegant.

“I wouldn’t say depressing” she finally spoke, she glanced over her shoulder and then back to Edward “But I see what they mean” he narrowed his eyes. “Being the political person Mr. Cobblepot is, I’m sure people expect a welcoming place to meet with him, right?” she shifted her body to turn her attention to the place where the desk was, Edward watching her closely “The trick is in giving them what they want without them knowing it” she turned to look at him as he frown “Give them the warmth without losing the style you already have here” she pushed herself up and Edward followed suit.

“An illusion” he said as she walked towards the window.

“Something like that” she turned to look at him, a fire burning behind her eyes that intrigued Edward as he looked at her “He was elected on his ideas, his platform, his vision of making Gotham better” she reached out and her index and thumb graced the heavy curtain. “But he has to give a bit of him now to make his people feel comfortable, that means changing a few things around here to make people feel welcome” she pulled her hand away and laced her hands behind her back “If you give me two days I’m sure I could come up with a design that still holds the style of the office, while giving the people the illusion that it is warmer in here than it is out there”

She looked at him, her eyes intense like they hadn’t been when she had walked into the office, Edward looked at her, the blazing in her eyes was all he could get from her, but still he was sure he could see the gears in her brain working and he had to admit that he hadn’t disliked what she had said.

“Very well” he finally agreed “We’ll go from there”

“Of course” she nodded.

“You mentioned something about bringing some designs” he continued “I would like to see them”

“Perfect” she smiled, she turned and in long strides reached the armchair she had been sitting on, her handbag perfectly placed over it.

Edward walked behind her towards the sofa and watched as Willa pulled out a portfolio and turned to look at him.

“May I?” she asked as she signaled the sofa with her portfolio.

“Of course” he nodded and waited until she had walked around the coffee table to reach the sofa, she handed him the portfolio and Edward took it before they sat down.

Edward flipped through the portfolio delicately, his precise eyes running through the pictures and the drawings and he had to admit that he was impressed, her abilities ranged through every style and color, from minimalistic to goth, from golds to blues and blacks; he looked at her from under his lashes, the young woman was looking around, her eyes drinking in all the information she could gather from the place in order to bring to life the creation that Edward was asking from her.

“There is a second office” he finally spoke after closing the portfolio, she turned to look at him “For bigger meetings” he handed the portfolio back to her “It’s in Mr. Cobblepot’s residence, if I look your designs, I would like you to take a look at that one too” he adjusted his glasses.

“Of course” she nodded, her mind screaming with joy that she had managed to change Edward’s stern look into a sort of pleased one. “I will come back in two days, is that alright?”

“Two days” Edward nodded “Same hour”

“Perfect Mr. Nygma” she said, he pushed himself up and she did the same. “Thank you for your time” she extended her hand out to him and he shook it. “It was a pleasure to meet you”

She walked out of the building with an adrenaline rush, everything seemed to be falling in place for the first time in almost ten years, things were working out for her the way she wanted, the way she needed, in a way that wasn’t painful either physically or mental and that change was something that made her feel like she could breathe better; as long as she didn’t think about Jim, then everything would be fine.

 

___________//____________

 

Edward walked up the stairs of the house, the smell of food drifting in every direction of the massive and elegant building; it had been a long day but with each passing one, it got easier and he was sure that they would soon get a hold of the activities that surrounded having to work for the Mayor.

Without much thought to it, Edward made his way towards the library, the routine he had acquired when he had moved in with Oswald was now something tattooed to his brain, no matter how tired he felt, angry or sleepy, he always made his way down the halls of the house to get to the library where he knew he would find Oswald or where Oswald would find Ed at the end of the day.

The elegant corridors of the house lead Edward towards the library, something about the darkness and the massiveness of Oswald’s house had always made Edward feel right at home; almost as if that was the place he should have been since the very beginning. The light from the library filtered out into the dark corridor like a guiding guide towards a room that Edward knew exactly where it was.

In the silence of the second story of the house, Edward’s hand landed over the doorframe as he strolled into the library, his hand stretching but ultimately falling next to him as he walked further into the room; he found Oswald right where he found him almost every night, sitting over one of the dark chairs with a glass of wine in his hands.

“Hello Oswald” said Edward, his voice sounded a bit tired.

“Ed” Oswald beamed as he turned to look at his friend, his eyes instantly shining despite the long and exhausting day he had had that day; yet there was always something about Edward that brightened his day like no one else could. “How was your day?” he asked as he pushed himself up, his free hand grabbing the chair tightly as his injured leg hissed in pain at the sudden movement.

“Productive” answered Edward “How was yours?”

The taller man made a beeline towards one of the armchairs near the placed Oswald had been occupying.

“Hectic” answered Oswald “But it was alright” he sat down, his leg feeling the strain from the long day on its muscles.

“I’m glad” nodded Edward, he sat down and gave Oswald a small smile, this man had turned not only in his best friend but also in the only family he had and coming back from a long day always seemed a bit better when he got the chance to talk to Oswald before going to bed.

Oswald nodded, gave his opinion and answered questions as he talked eagerly with Edward, the taller man seemed to have lightened up after a few minutes into talking and drinking wine and now they were talking animatedly about different things as a heavy rain broke outside and the food on the first floor was getting ready to be served; he watched the way Edward’s eyes shined as he talked about the things that he was passionate about, and his heart seemed to grow as he looked at him, because Edward might be Oswald’s best friend, but that didn’t mean that Oswald wasn’t incredibly aware of the feelings that he had for Nygma, and that they were getting stronger with each passing day.

“Oswald” said Edward after a while, his voice changing and a small frown forming over his face “I want to talk to you about something”

“What is it?” asked Oswald, he set his glass of wine down and a frown to match Ed’s appeared over his face.

“It has come to my attention that a few people consider the downtown office to be a bit dark” Edward explained, leaving out the part where people had mentioned that it felt depressing; Oswald’s frown got deeper as he looked at his friend. “I acquired the phone of an interior designer and I met with her today at the office” he pulled his glasses off and looked down at them before he continued to talk “I was skeptical at the beginning, but I decided to call her since Mr. Pines was so insistent about it” Edward looked up at Oswald, he knew his friend dislikes Pines as much as Edward did and rightly so, Oswald rolled his eyes as soon as Edward looked at him.

“And how did the meeting go?”

“I was surprised” Edward nodded, he pushed his glasses back on “In a very positive way” Oswald narrowed his eyes “Her name is Wilhelmina Argent and she seems…. He allowed the words to die but narrowed his eyes mostly to himself as he looked for a word.

“Disastrous?” asked Oswald.

“Perceptive” Edward corrected “I asked her to give a few designs for the downtown office, she will be delivering them to me in two days” Oswald nodded “I took the liberty of telling her about this office and I think it would be interesting if you met her”

“You seem very surprised in a good way with this woman”

“There was something about the way she talked that I found interesting” answered Edward “We could have used her help during the campaign” he shrugged “But that is not the thing, I think that if she does a good job, it would be a good idea for her to look at the office here” he leaned over his knees “Of course with your permission and it would be appropriate for you to meet her”

Oswald looked at Edward, his friend looked calm and expectant, he wasn’t feeling the idea of meeting this woman or even to change the appearance of his office just for the sakes of the people he had meetings with, but if there was one thing that Oswald knew in his bones was that he could trust Edward with his life.

“Do you like her?” asked Oswald “Professionally, I mean”

“Yes” answered Edward without doubt.

“Then I will make sure to be at the office when you meet with her again in two days” Oswald nodded, a small smile spreading over his face and even if Edward knew that the smile was a little bit forced, he was certain that Oswald would eventually change his mind about the young woman; after all she had been recommended by a man that belonged to the elite of Gotham and that could always be used in their favor.


	6. Just a Few Thoughts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Willa has scars, Jim has doubts and Ed has nice words to share.

Willa strolled into the bathroom, she had allowed herself to sleep in late now that she hadn’t planned any appointments for that day; the sun filtered into the hotel room through the precariously drawn curtain, the TV was on for background sound as Willa looked at herself in the mirror.

She was tired, she had stayed up late sketching a few things for the Mayor, asserting colors and rearranging the furniture in the office in her mind and later on in her computer; there was no way she wasn’t going to give this all she had, there would be no better publicity other than scoring the job with the Mayor. She had turned the computer off and had headed to bed at around three in the morning after she had been satisfied with one of the sketches and color pallets and an idea for the furniture had popped in her mind.

The woman rubbed her left eye before grabbing the hem of her shirt and pulling it over her head, she turned on her heels to face the shower and dropped the shirt over the sink. Willa stepped towards the shower door, she pulled it open and reached in to turn the shower on, recoiling instantly when the water started to rush out in an attempt to shield herself from the cold water.

She watched as the water splashed over the shower floor before she pushed down her sweatpants and her panties all together, she stepped away from the clothes as they pooled around her feet and towards the door of the shower; the hot water was already steaming up the bathroom.

Her mind was racing with the idea she had come up with for the Mayor and the details she wanted to add to the color pallet for Mrs. Faletti, she stepped into the water and her skin hissed for a moment as the burning water landed over her and rolled down her skin. Lost in thought, Willa showered quickly, her fingers aching to get a pen so she could start adding the details and more to the sketches she had designed.

She turned around and turned the water off, a small thought roaring in her mind as she turned to get out of the shower.

“ _Call him”_ the two words slammed against her mind harder than anything else in the last few days; her right hand landed over the door knob, the water rolling down her body as she forced herself to push the thoughts of Jim away from her.

She understood, or at least she tried to, they hadn’t seen each other in years and now she came back almost out of the blue and she knew it was hard, that all the emotions Jim could have felt were coming back to Jim in one crushing wave and accepting everything she was telling him was hard; she really tried to understand that he needed time and that maybe his answer was not the one she wanted to hear.

Willa grabbed the towel from the hanger and dried her face first, towels in hotels always seemed to be fluffier and softer than the towels anywhere else, she dried her chest carelessly and proceeded to do the same with her legs before she started to squeeze the excess of water off her hair. The steam from the hot water had fogged up the mirror, but she could still see her abstract figure as she wrapped part of the towel around the ends of her long hair.

The young woman grabbed the hair comb and passed it down her hair, tugging a bit harder when she reached the knots, her eyes set over the clearing mirror; her naked and slender torso came to view first, her eyes drifting from her chest to the pink zigzagging line of a scar that traveled from the side of her left breast down to almost her bellybutton, the line was usually white but after being under hot water, it usually turned pink and darker than it usually was.

At least she didn’t have any scars where the eyes could wonder.

With a swift movement, after she had finished combing her hair, Willa turned on her heels and stepped out of the bathroom; she had no appointments that day, but she still had a lot of work to do and she had to set portfolio for Mr. Nygma, whom she would be meeting with the next day.

 

___________//____________

 

Jim pressed the bridge of his nose, his eyes closing, he leaned back against the chair in Leslie’s office; her office seemed to be the only place in the whole station that remained warm despite the grey skies outside, the welcoming smell of tea and sometimes coffee made Leslie’s office Jim’s favorite place at GCP Station.

Leslie walked into the office, a file pressed against her chest with one hand and the other wrapped around the door knob, she smiled as Jim turned to glance as her from his place on one of the chairs in front of the desk.

“Hey” she smiled, she stepped in to the room and allowed the door to close behind her gently.

“Hi” he answered back, a small frown appeared over her face as she made her way towards the desk, Jim had been acting weird for a few days now, she could tell there was something bothering him, she just couldn’t figure out what it was.

“Are you hiding from Harvey?” asked Leslie with humor, she set the file over the desk and pulled her chair out.

“How’d you guess?” smiled Jim, he turned his body to look at her, the way her wavy hair fell over her shoulders and her big warm eyes shined as she looked at him; the way they transmitted so much emotion without a single word slipping from her lips.

“He’s in a bad mood” she shrugged “Everyone is trying to stay away from him”

“I just don’t feel like dealing with him right now” sighed Jim, he placed his hand over the desk and tapped his fingers over the surface, his eyes lowered to the movement of his fingers. “I’m just buying time before I head out”

“Where are you going?” she asked, she sat down and reached towards him, her fingers brushing against his.

“I have to go talk to Oswald” explained Jim, he raised his eyes up to her “I need to show him some pictures of a few suspects of the guy missing his face that came in just a few days ago”

“Yeah, I remember him” Leslie nodded. “Be careful”

“I will” nodded Jim, he turned his hand over and laced his fingers with hers; the warmth he felt with Leslie melting a bit of the pain he felt from Willa, he looked down at their hands and pressed his lips into a thin line, he knew that she could see there was something bothering him, still he didn’t know how to address this, how to talk to Leslie about Willa. “Lee” he whispered after a few seconds in silence.

“What is it?” she asked, she gave his hand a squeeze.

“ _Tell her!”_ cried Jim’s mind, “I love you” he smiled as he looked up at her “I have to go, I’ll see you when I get back ok?”

“Of course” nodded Leslie, her stomach turning partially because she had thought he would finally tell her what was bothering him so much. “I love you too”

Jim pulled his hand away from Leslie’s and pushed himself up, Harvey was in an especially bad mood that day, so the sooner they got to leave and go talk to Oswald, the better.

Jim walked in long strides towards his desk, Harvey was already there with a plastic cup of coffee in his hands and his eyebrows knitted together; the older detective glanced and took a sip from his coffee before he spoke.

“Boy Scout,” he started.

“Get your coat” said Jim, not even giving Harvey a chance to try to start a fight “We are heading out to talk to Oswald”

The blond grabbed his coat and threw it over his arm before continuing his stride towards the door of the station, Harvey watched him for a few seconds before he grabbed his own coat and flung it over his shoulder, following after Jim.

 

___________//____________

 

Jim was pushing himself up from the chair when Edward walked into the room, as usual when Jim was talking to Oswald, Harvey was not present and Edward was grateful, with all the work he had to do, the last thing he needed was to have to tolerate Harvey’s jokes and sarcasm and unwanted and unnecessary comments.

“Jim” Edward nodded with a small smile over his face.

“Nygma” Jim said back, he glanced at Oswald before turning back to Edward “Nice to see you”

“The same I say” Edward smiled.

“Anyway” said Jim, his eyes returning to Oswald “Thank you for your help, Oswald”

“Of course Jim” Oswald answered, he swallowed a grunt as he pushed himself to his feet, his hand curling tight around the head of his cane. “I will let you know if something comes up”

“Thank you” nodded Jim, he grabbed the file from the table and turned away from the table to head towards the door, her knew Harvey was probably on edge already but at least they had a lead on the murders and Oswald always kept up to his word when Jim came to ask for help.

The detective walked past Edward, giving him a short nod that Edward returned and then he walked out of the room, the door closing behind him as he left the former Arkham patients in the room.

Edward waited a few seconds before he turned to look at his friend, the Penguin had turned to look at him and had a smile over his face, Edward smiled back and walked towards the table; he couldn’t really remember the last time he had felt so at home with someone, and yet here he was with Oswald, feeling like this was his home and that there was no other place he wanted to be.

“Ed” nodded Oswald as he sat down, the weather had been giving him hell with his injured leg.

“Oswald” smiled Ed, he pulled the chair out and sat down “I didn’t know Jim was going to be here”

“Neither did I” shrugged Oswald, he leaned his elbows over the table. “He called me this morning after you had left” he continued “Asked if we could talk, and we did”

Edward nodded and gave him a tight smile, he knew that Jim was probably asking for a favor, a favor that only someone with the connections that Oswald had could grant Jim; still he decided not to push because he knew Oswald would probably end up telling him at night over dinner.

“Is everything alright?” asked Edward.

“Of course” smiled Oswald “Nothing to worry about”

“Good” nodded Edward, “Anyway, I came over to see if you wanted to have lunch” he explained “There are a few things I want to run with you about Arkham and I thought it would be nice if we had lunch together”

Oswald felt his heart race and flutter at the same time, his stomach dropped to the center of the earth as he looked at Edward, his eyes shining behind his glasses and his small smile were all enough to have Oswald’s heart constrict in his chest.

“I would love that” nodded Oswald, he was buried in work, but he would be damned if he didn’t take a few hours to accept this invitation.

“Perfect” smiled Edward “I also wanted to talk to you about the interior designer” Edward looked down at his hands for a moment, his mind turning as he tried to gather his thoughts.

“Yes, if I remember correctly, we have an appointment with her tomorrow at the downtown office” he cleared his throat and Edward looked up at him.

“We do” Edward unlaced his hands and leaned a bit further over the table “I just had the impression that this whole thing with Ms. Argent might have left us in a misunderstanding, Oswald”

“What do you mean?” frowned Oswald.

“I don’t want you to think that this arrangement with Ms. Argent is because I think your taste in décor is flawed” explained Edward, he frowned for a moment “On the contrary, I believe it suits who you really are and I just wanted to make sure that you knew that”

“Oh” whispered Oswald as he looked at Ed, he hadn’t misunderstood his friend, but it was nice to hear Edward say this things to him, Edward was, after all, the only person Oswald had left to care about and to hear him say such nice things to him, always brightened Oswald’s day. “Thank you, Ed, I appreciate it”

“I want you to remember Oswald” Ed continued “That I believe in what you are doing, with Gotham I mean” his smile seemed to get bigger and Oswald wasn’t sure his heart could take any more of this “I am proud of you, my friend” he reached and his hand landed over Oswald’s, the Penguin’s head dropped to look at their hands, his skin feeling like electricity had taken over his body, like nothing could ever ruin this, because the way Ed’s skin felt against his was just too perfect to be denied. “I really am” he squeezed Oswald’s hand and pulled it away in a rapid motion that Oswald wished had lasted longer.

“Thank you” was all Oswald could utter “That really means a lot to me” he looked up at Edward.

Edward smiled at his friend before he pushed the chair back and stood up “Now, should we go for lunch?”

“Of course” chuckled Oswald as he pushed his own chair back and tried his best not to wince when his leg hissed in pain; it was this moments that Oswald allowed himself to be who he really was, and there was no one he trusted more with his true self, than Edward.

Because there was no one better out there for Oswald than Edward and he knew there was no one out there better for Edward than him.


	7. How It All Began

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WIlla meets Oswald, Oswald isn't sure what certain glance means and a deal is made.

Willa had learned a lot after she had been forced to leave Gotham, she had been molded to be the perfect daughter, the perfect sister, the perfect future wife; at least as far as the public eye could tell. And it had been that knowledge about how an appearance can trick millions, that she had learned the art of decoration, her mother had been thrilled, so excited to see that her daughter was becoming a great housewife; but Willa had never done it to become a housewife, she had done it because art and colors and decorations became her escape from the horror house her family was.

And she became great at what she did.

She pushed her hair behind her shoulders as she made her way up the street, her briefcase held tight in her right hand and her left one was holding a bright green umbrella; so far the weather had been playing in her favor and she was hoping it would continue that way.

She had already secured the deal with Mrs. Faletti, and if she could secure the deal with the Mayor of Gotham then she would be able to find a place to live in no time.

With a smile over her face, Willa marched up towards the building, her heart was pounding fast, Mr. Nygma had been a bit serious and defensive at the beginning, she had managed to warm him up to her ideas, but she wasn’t sure how the Mayor would be. The man at the reception had told her that Oswald was a serious man, a man people tried not to cross and if she had known, she would have asked Jim about him, then again Jim wasn’t talking to her either.

“ _Let’s not think about him”_ she whispered in her mind, as much as she had moved back to Gotham for Jim, she couldn’t force him to talk to her if he didn’t want too.

Willa walked into the building, she had to make this work, she had to convince the Mayor that she was perfect for this because she was, she knew she was; she just had to get Nygma on her side if things became a bit difficult.

She walked up the hallway, she had only been at the building once but she remembered it perfectly, this time she went straight for the stairs, her high heels silent as she climbed up. When she had been younger, when she roamed around the streets with Jim Gordon, never in a million years she would have imagined that she would work high heels like an expert.

But her parents had made sure she learned how to use them.

With tears, sweat and blood.

Specially blood.

A middle age man glanced at her, eying her in every detail as she reached the top of the stairs and turned to walk down the long hallway to the desk of Nygma’s secretary; she shook her head gently as she reached Melinda and without much effort, Willa put a smile over her ace and greeted the woman.

“Good morning”

Melinda’s head snapped up, she was swarming in work “Good morning” she smiled at Willa, she didn’t remember her name but she remembered seeing her a few days ago.

“I have an appointment with Mr. Nygma” Willa explained “I think I’m a bit early”

Melinda checked the small clock over her desk and frown as she turned to look at her “Twenty minutes early, Miss”

“Oh” she furrowed her brow and looked down at her watch “I think I have my watch running a bit early”

“Don’t worry about it” smiled Melinda “Mr. Nygma is in his office anyway”

“Great” smiled Willa, she glanced at the partially opened door and then turned to Melinda, the secretary pushed herself up but Willa shook her head “Don’t worry, I’ll knock on my own, don’t get up”

Melinda looked at her and Willa saw doubt flash in her eyes, “Um… ok”

“Don’t worry about it” Willa shook her head, her blond hair swaying over her shoulders “It’s no big deal” she winked at Melinda and turned away from the desk.

She knew that the young woman was looking at her, probably hoping that Nygma wouldn’t reprimand her for allowing Willa to go on her own towards the office, but Willa was pretty sure she could handle it, then again it wasn’t like Willa was about to walk into something private, he had the door ajar after all.

Willa knocked on the door with her knuckles, she glanced through the cracked door, she could see Nygma standing with his back to the door, hunching as he looked down at something on the desk.

“Come in” his voice was low and serious just like Willa remembered.

Willa glanced back at Melinda and gave her a smile before she pushed the door open and stepped into the office, the curtains were drawn and the bright sun of the day filtered into the room.

“Good morning” she spoke, her voice was firm but soft.

Nygma tensed, his days in Arkham had taken away the jolting reflex, he turned around quickly, a file in his hands and his eyes instantly falling over the young woman; she was standing just a pair of feet away from the door, her briefcase handle held in both hands and her umbrella hanging from her arm, her hair fell gracefully down her shoulders and there was a small smile over her face as she waited for him to say something.

“Ms. Argent” he spoke, unlike the first time, Edward didn’t have his glasses on today. “Good morning, you’re early”

“I know” she nodded, “My watch is running a bit ahead, I hope you don’t mind that I’m early”

“Not at all” he answered, he glanced at the door “Mr. Cobblepot isn’t here yet”

“Yes, Mrs. Summers mentioned that” she lied “Would you like to wait outside?” she glanced over her shoulder “I wouldn’t mind” she said turning to him.

“No, of course not” he shook his head, a frown over his eyes “You can sit down if you’d like it” he motioned towards one of the chairs.

“Thank you” she moved towards the chair, Edward watched her, she was elegant and cautious with her words and he wondered how on Earth she had ended up in Gotham.

 

___________//____________

 

The last thing Oswald imagined when he walked into Edward’s office was to be unable to read the way Edward was looking at the young blond woman sitting next to him; she was looking down at a portfolio over her lap and he was looking at her, his eyes slightly narrowed but still Oswald wasn’t sure what he meant by that look.

“Good morning” Oswald spoke, leaning over his cane, at least the weather wasn’t giving his leg hell that day.

Edward glanced over his shoulder, a short smile over his lips as he saw Oswald standing at the door, he turned towards Willa, but the young woman was already pushing herself up to her feet; he followed her lead and Oswald wobbled into the room.

“Good morning, Oswald” said Edward.

“Good morning, Mr. Mayor” answered Willa, her voice was steady, her eyes unreadable and Oswald wasn’t sure how that made him feel.

Oswald glanced at her briefly before he turned to look at Edward “Did we move the meeting to an earlier hour?”

“No” answered Willa, Oswald turned to her “I was simply early, Sir, my watch is running ahead” she glanced at Edward by the rear of her eyes “Mr. Nygma was kind enough to let me wait here until you arrived”

Oswald turned to Edward, the man tore his eyes away from Willa and turned to Oswald “Oswald, this is Wilhelmina Argent, Ms. Argent, this is Oswald Cobblepot, the Mayor of Gotham”

“Mr. Mayor” Willa stepped around the sofa and extended her hand out to him “A pleasure to meet you, sir”

“Ms. Argent” he extended his hand and shook it, “Thank you for meeting us” he wasn’t sure if he liked her, but he knew how to pretend and right now, that’s what he had to do. “Well,” he nodded “Let’s begin then”

“Ms. Argent has brought a few sketches for us to see” explained Edward as the group moved to sit down, Willa handed the portfolio to Edward and decided to sit at one of the single armchairs as Edward and Oswald sat down together.

Oswald couldn’t deny that he had been a more than just a bit offended when Edward had told him the people thought his office was too dark and depressive, and he hadn’t been sure how to feel when Edward had mentioned Argent but now here he was, looking down at the portfolio that Edward had trusted this woman to make and he was ….

Impressed.

He looked up at the woman, her eyes were over the coffee table but as soon as she felt his eyes over her, she looked up at him, a small smile spreading over her face.

“Do you like them, Mr. Cobblepot?”

Edward looked up to Oswald, the Penguin cocked his head to the left, there was something about the young woman that seemed familiar.

“I do” he answered, he handed the portfolio to Edward.

She nodded, hiding her excitement the best way she could. “Mr. Nygma talked to you about another office, is that right?”

“Yes” answered Willa, she adjusted herself in her chair. “Would you like me to see it? Maybe if I brought some designs for the other office, you could make a decision about hiring my services”

“I don’t need to see your designs just yet, Ms. Argent” said Oswald, Willa cocked her head softly and her hair shone against the sun filtering into the room. “Mr. Nygma,” he glanced at his friend before turning back to Willa “He trusts your work, mentioned you were highly recommended and by the sketches you show me today, I can see he is right about your talent”

Willa glanced at Edward, he was looking at her, his eyes intense and she wondered how many things hid behind the surface of both men; she turned to Oswald.

“I trust his judgment more than anything” Oswald continue, he grabbed his cane and pushed himself up, the lack of pain helped him push himself up faster, Willa and Edward followed after him “I want to hire your services, a few people think my office is too depressing and I believe you could help with that”

“I don’t believe depressive is the correct way to describe your office, Mr. Cobblepot” he quirked an eyebrow. “Your taste is different, you just have to give the public what they want”

“Well, Ms. Argent” smirked Oswald, she sure had a silver tongue. “I will surely pay you for you to do just that”

She smiled “I will be honored to work for you Mr. Cobblepot” she extended her hand out to him “I will not let you down”

He reached and shook her hand, his eyes piercing into her and Willa was sure she had never seen such force hiding behind a pair of eyes “I sure hope you won’t, Ms. Argent”

And it wouldn’t be until a few months, that Oswald would realize that Willa had never let him down.


	8. Calls and Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jim makes up his mind and Oswald has a feeling

Jim looked down at his phone, Leslie was in the bathroom getting ready to go to bed and his mind was in a completely different planet, he had saved Maggie’s number under the name she had given him but still with two weeks gone since he had seen her, he wasn’t sure what to do with the information.

It felt wrong to know she was in Gotham and that he was by no means talking to her, it felt wrong in his bones and in his soul to have her number and not be in contact with her; Jim had waited years for this, he had waited for some kind of signal that would tell her that Maggie was alright, that she was safe and happy, and now he knew she was in Gotham and he couldn’t handle seeing her.

“Shit” he whispered, he heard Leslie moving in the bathroom but he didn’t put much thought to it before he pushed himself up to his feet and walked around the bed.

He walked towards the door of the room, pushing it open and slightly closing it behind himself, he wasn’t sure why he was hiding this information from Leslie, but he also couldn’t help himself, he had told Barbara about Maggie once, it had been a few months before they had moved in together and despite all the madness that Barbara now had in her, she had never used that information against him.

Even Barbara understood how important this all was for Jim.

Jim sat down over the sofa, the sofa he had leaned against when he had heard Maggie’s voice after such a long time; he took a deep breath and pressed his finger over the contact name, he had to do this at some point, even if it was to tell her that he didn’t want to hear from her again.

He pressed the phone against his ear and waited as it rang, his pulse speeding up as he waited for her to answer, but also hoped she wouldn’t do it.

“Hello?” her voice was soft, tired but not as if he had woken her up.

He opened his mouth to speak, he felt his throat dry up and only managed to croak an answer “Hi”

“Gordo!” she gasped, and Jim couldn’t see her but she was scrambling to sit down over her bed. “Um, how are you?”

He wasn’t sure how to answer to that, in fact, the whole thing he had planned out in his mind, had just been completely erased; just hearing her voice had rearranged his mind.

“Meet me at our secret place” he said instead, instead of asking her to never call him again.

“When?”

“Tomorrow at noon”

“I’ll be there” she smiled as she answered.

Jim opened his mouth to answer but instead he pulled the phone away from his ear and hung up, he closed his eyes and pressed the palm of his hands over his eyes; he heard the door of his room open up and Leslie’s footfalls hurried towards them.

“Jim” she gasped, her hands landing over his shoulders “Sweetheart, are you ok?”

How was he supposed to answer to that?

“Jim?” she asked, her voice becoming stern.

“I’m fine” he answered, even if he felt like crying. “I’m just tired”

Leslie looked at him, his eyes closed and the tone in his voice, she had known Jim for a long time to know that he was hiding something; that he had been hiding something for a while now.

“Look at me” Slowly she curled her hands around his wrists and uncovered his face, he looked at her and she smiled gently at him “I don’t know what’s going on, but you can talk to me, it doesn’t have to be right now, but when you are ready”

“It’s nothing” he gave her a smile, he hadn’t seen Maggie in years but he wasn’t going to blow her cover, he couldn’t just betray her. “I’m just really tired”

And with that Jim pushed himself up, Leslie’s hands dropped away from him and she watched as he walked towards the room; Leslie sighed, whatever was going on she would have to figure out what it was because it was eating Jim alive.

 

___________//____________

 

Edward walked into the office that Oswald had set up for him in the house, it was late and windy and he knew Gotham weather enough to tell that rain was coming; he walked towards the desk, holding a file in his left hand; he had been glad to see that the reunion between Oswald and Willa had gone smoothly, no matter what, he knew that the way the public saw Oswald was important, he needed their support to continue as Mayor.

He set the file down over the desk and next to his computer, he pulled out the chair and sat down, lifting the lid of the computer; as the computer loaded up, he turned his attention to the file, he opened it and pulled out the CD he had gotten from the office.

He pushed the CD into the computer and rapidly opened up the files from the designs that Willa had left at the office, after the initial reunion with Oswald, she had kept sending Edward a few designs and now that he had time, he was going to pick the one he thought was a better fit so she could continue with the work she had been hired to do.

Edward adjusted his glasses and scrolled down to the last design, his eyebrow quirked up in surprise, the design screamed Oswald just as much as it screamed the acceptance from the public; he reached for his phone and tore his eyes away from the screen to look down at it, he clicked on the text option and started to type.

“You are still working?”

Edward looked up from the phone and towards the door of the office, Oswald was standing there, leaning over his cane, which only meant that the weather had been harsh on him that day.

“There’s always work” Edward answered. “I was just making sure that the redecorating of the office begins tomorrow”

“Right” nodded Oswald “Have you talked to the designer?”

“Ms. Argent” Edward said as he looked down at the computer “Yes, in fact I just texted her, giving her the green light on the design we agreed”

“Sounds good” said Oswald “You think she can deliver?”

“She seems efficient” Edward said “And so far, she has delivered everything she has promised”

The phone over the desk vibrated and Edward’s eyes snapped to it, he reached for the object and Oswald watched as his eyebrow quirked up, amusement in his eyes before his fingers typed rapidly and he set the phone down.

“Work?” he couldn’t help but ask, his grip around the cane tightening as Edward looked up at him.

“Yes” he answered “Ms. Argent to be exact,”

“Ah” whispered Oswald, he held the cane harder “I see”

“She will begin with the decoration tomorrow, she’ll be looking for a few measurements at the office in the morning”

“You seem surprised” Oswald shifted his weight but held back a wince that threatened to erupt from his lips.

“Pleased would be more like it, Oswald” Edward closed the computer and pushed himself back “WE have gone through a significant group of incompetents” he walked around the desk “To see that this woman is not one of them, pleases me”

“Well,” Oswald said, trying his best not to grit his teeth “We’ll make sure to give her a recommendation when she is done with the job”

“I agree” Edward walked up towards Oswald “Pines gala is in a week, his assistant said she would be sending the information tomorrow, I’ll make sure they know of your assistance”

“Thank you, Ed” nodded Oswald “What would I do without you?”

“I rather think that we make a good team, Oswald” he gave him a short smile and both men walked out of the office, the night turning colder by the second.

In his pocket, Edward felt his phone vibrate again, he pulled it out as he walked with Oswald towards the kitchen, the shorter man had left tea brewing before he had gone to check on Edward; Oswald glanced at Edward as he started to type once more, and there it was again.

That look that Edward had had when Oswald had walked into the office and seen Edward looking at Willa Argent, it was the strange way his eyes seemed sharper, more focused, Oswald tore his eyes away from him, his heart beating madly because he couldn’t understand that look, he couldn’t understand how he was unable to figure out what was happening with Edward.

And he felt a sting in his stomach that he had felt before, a sting he force himself to suppress as Edward started to talk once more.


	9. Young and Beautiful

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ed talks to Willa and Jim speaks up.

Edward walked down the hallway to get to Oswald’s office, he had been awake since before dawn and despite knowing perfectly well that Willa would be taking a few measures of the office, he had run late after being held back in a last minute meeting. As he approached the office he could see the door was wide open and he cringed tightly as he reached it, he didn’t like people being inside the office without supervision from Oswald or himself.

He stepped inside to find Willa in front of the window, the curtains were drawn and the sun was pouring into the room as she measured the window length, the light turning her almost into a silhouette; her hair was pulled back on a braid and she had changed the usual pencil skirts for a pair of dark dressing pants.

“Good morning” he spoke, he watched as the woman jolted in surprise before she turned around to look at Edward.

“Mr. Nygma, good morning” she answered back, he looked around the room and started to walk towards the desk.

“I didn’t expect you to be here so early” he pointed out before he looked up at her; the woman shifted her weight from one leg to the other.

“I texted you that I would be here at this hour” she explained, Edward frowned and looked down at his watch.

“I lost track of time” he said, mostly to himself and with certain surprise in his voice.

“No problem” she shrugged “I’m almost done here anyway” she looked around as Edward looked up at her “I’ll finish with the window and I’ll be gone to see some fabric for the curtains” she turned to him.

“Are you heading downtown?” he asked.

“Yes, there are a few interesting shops down there” she answered “I found a good piece of furniture at the Mayor’s office”

“ _Proactive”_ he thought as he looked at her “I’m heading downtown as well” he said “To meet with some possible investors,” she nodded at his words “I could give you a ride”

Willa smiled back at Edward, nothing could go wrong today, she was meeting with Jim at noon and her ideas for the Mayor’s office were materializing faster than she had expected.

“Thank you” she agreed “That would be really helpful, Mr. Nygma”

“Ten minutes sound appropriate?”

“Sounds perfect” and with that, she turned on her heels and back to the window, she picked up a small notepad and the measuring tape as Edward watched her gathering her things before they could get going.

 

___________//____________

 

The drive downtown was rather quick, the streets weren’t usually crowded at that time in the morning; Edward and Willa sat together on the backseat, the young woman looking out the window when Edward spoke.

“What brought you to Gotham, Ms. Argent?”

Willa turned to look at him, the tall man had his eyes over his phone but as he felt her gaze over him, he turned to look at her.

“I’d been here before” she answered “When I was younger, I came back a few weeks ago as just passing through and decided that maybe my career choice would flourish here” she shrugged “I just felt a pull to stay here”

“And has it flourished?” he asked, his eyes as intense as she remembered them from the first day they had met.

“Well, I’m working with the Mayor, so I’m gonna go with a yes, it has” she smiled softly.

“Good to hear” he nodded as the car started to slow down.

Edward turned to the window and noticed that they had reached Willa’s destination, he turned back to her, but she was already gathering her suitcase and her umbrella.

“Thanks for the ride” she said as the car pulled over “I’ll call your office to set a date to move in the furniture and have someone set the curtains up”

“Of course” he nodded just before the door was pulled open for Willa.

“Have a good day, Mr. Nygma” she said as she stepped out of the car “Thank you”

“Have a good day” Edward nodded back at her.

And with that the door closed and Willa Argent walked away from the car, her green umbrella in her hands and her golden hair bouncing against her back.

 

___________//____________

 

With some time to kill, Willa had made a detour to her hotel, the woman had raced to change into a pair of jeans and a knitted burgundy sweater before she had dashed back to the street; her heart was racing and her mind going through all the possible scenarios that could unfold when she met with Jim.

She walked out into the docks, the wind was slapping against the water, but not enough for it to splash onto the walking path that Willa was taking; the place had changed a lot, almost a lifetime, since she had last seen it, a few of the abandoned buildings were gone and others were no longer abandoned, and the lane for the cars was wider than she remembered, and just thinking about the last time she had taken a ride down that road, sent a shudder down her back.

The blond woman could remember perfectly the way her lungs had burned when she had been dragged away from Jim, the way she had screamed and cried and begged; the way she had felt her soul shatter inside her.

Willa crossed her arms over her chest and finally came to a stop at the building where she had known she’d always love Jim Gordon; her heart constricted in her chest as she looked at the structure, her eyes wondering to the side and towards the fire escape. The old rusted fire escape she had used to escape form Cillian had been replaced by a blue one.

Without much thought, Willa walked towards the fire escape, a pile of wooden boxes had been piled just below the first steps, a signal that someone had been going up there too; as carefully as she could, Willa climbed up the boxes and then pulled herself on the stairs and started to climb up to the floor they had claimed as their own.

A place they had claimed their own when her hair was shorter, when Jim still used worn out jackets, when her body didn’t have so many scars and broken memories.

When they had been young and beautiful.

She reached her location and stepped towards the window, she looked inside but there was no one inside, she sighed and turned on the ball of her feet to face the handrail of the fire escape, and without much to say, Willa sat down, holding the bars and leaning her face against her right hand, her eyes scanning the waving water and the darkening sky.

“ _Now we wait”_ she told herself.

 

___________//____________

Jim walked into the room with his hands inside the pockets of his coat, he scanned the room rapidly, the colorful graffiti that had decorated the room and that he had learned from memory was gone, and had been replaced with by a white paint coat with a few darker growing stains.

But yet, it still felt like their place.

His eyes turned to the window as he walked further inside, and his heart clenched in his chest.

There she was, her back to him with a braid resting between her shoulder blades, when Willa had lived in Gotham she had always kept her hair short, as a way to avoid being pulled by the hair by her father or brother before being beat up.

He swallowed hard before walked to the window and calling her attention.

“Hi” his words short but his mind screaming so much more.

Willa jolted, surprised and turned to look over her shoulder, the air being sucked out of her chest as her eyes landed over Jim.

“Jim, hi” she said, he looked at her for a few seconds and walked towards the window, after all, that was their building but the fire escape had always been their place.

Her eyes followed Jim as he walked onto the fire escape and after a second of hesitation, he sat down next to her, his eyes out to the water.

Silence.

“So what now?” he finally spoke after a few minutes of silence.

“Now I stay” she answered, her eyes tearing away from him and towards the water.

“For how long?” he asked. “Until Cillian finds it fit?” and he felt horrible and like a petty child as soon as the words left his mouth, but he didn’t take it back.

“I haven’t heard from Cillian in years” she answered “So now I stay as long as I want” she continued.

This time, Jim turned to look at her “I came back every day for months after you were taken, part of me hoping that you would just be sitting here, waiting for me” she tensed as she looked at him “And then I started to come less and less and then I stopped all together” he sighed “I couldn’t bare to come here and know this was the place where you had been taken” he looked for the scar on her eyebrow “It felt tainted” he shrugged painfully “It broke me every time and I had to move on”

“I need you to know that I would have never left you if it had been up to me” her eyes scanned his for a desperate response “And all those years away, you were the one thing that kept me alive”

And all the anger he had pent up after he had gotten her first call, seemed to wash away, replaced by relief and a desperate need to have her back.

“What did they do to you?”

She smiled kindly at him “That’s in the past now, there’s no need to worry about that”

They were different words but it was the same tone, the one she used when Jim brought up the bruises and the abuse, the dismissive tone from when they had been younger.

He reached out gently and wrapped his hand around hers, his eyes over their hands as she kept looking at him; her heart was threatening to burst and she was doing a great effort not to cry as she finally got Jim back.

“I do,” she whispered, unable to raise her voice, fearing that it would break; Jim looked up at her with questioning eyes “I do still love you, Jim Gordon” she answered his unspoken question.

And for the first time since they had reunited, a small smile appeared over Jim’s face.

“I still love you too, Willa Argent”

Because saying it to her had always been as easy as it was to breath, it had always come to him uncomplicated and flowing.

Jim and Maggie.

Gordo and Maggie.

Gordo and Willa.

Jim and Willa.


	10. Early Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lot of things can happen in the early morning.

It was early morning in Gotham, the wind was cool with the morning dew but the sun was starting to peek from behind the clouds, giving hope the city below that there might be some warm and sunny hours that day; that was the golden and radiant morning to which Willa had woken up, her spirits lifted now that Jim had decided to be part of her life.

The young woman had pulled her hair back into a tight braid and had left her hotel room ready for her morning jog; she made her way down the sidewalk, very few people were out at the time, so she practically had the city to herself, enjoying a side that not everyone got to know from Gotham. When she had been younger, she had become used to going out during the night, to make the shadows her friend and her cover, she had been stripped of that when she had been taken away, just like she had been stripped from so many other things, things that she probably would never get back.

She splashed over a puddle on the sidewalk, water drops flying up and colliding against her legs as she continued her path, the breeze was gentle but cool enough to have turned her cheeks bright pink; the young woman took a curve and continued her run down a street with a few stores of furniture and decoration objects, she turned her head and watched the windows, it had been during one of this jogs that she had discovered a beautiful pair of single armchairs for the Mayor’s office.

The young woman trotted down until she came to a stop, her chest was rising and falling rapidly, she raised her left hand and wiped the sweat off her forehead, her eyes were over one of the windows, a wonderful coffee table and a vase were staring back at her, with her lips gapped, she smiled and shifted her weight from one leg to the other before she looked up at the name of the store, it was close but she was sure it would open up in a couple of hours.

“Ok” she nodded “You beauties are going with me” she whispered, she looked down the street, but no one was walking neither up or down, she turned to the items in the store. “Time to go back then” she took a deep breath and turned on her heels, preparing herself to head back the way she had come and make her way to her hotel.

At the other side of town, Leslie was watching as Jim walked towards the kitchen, he was already dressed for work, only missing his usual long coat and his hat, but there was something about him that had changed; it was the way he walked and talked, the way he had been holding himself for the last two days.

For a few weeks, he had been anxious, on edge, mopping as he walked around the house or the station, but two days ago he had come back home and all that was gone, the energy around him had changed and now he seemed vibrant and energized and Leslie was left guessing what on earth was going on in Jim’s life.

“ _What are you hiding?”_ she asked herself as she watched him serve himself a mug of coffee, he took a sip and turned to look at her, she was sitting at the living room, setting her things inside her work bag.

“Are you heading to the hospital first?” he asked, he leaned against the counter of the kitchen.

“Yes” she nodded “I have to check on a few files there, then I’ll head to the station”

“Sounds good” nodded Jim “We’ll I’m off to work” he smiled at her “Harvey wants to check on the lead that Oswald gave us as soon as we can”

“Be careful” she smiled, she pushed herself up as Jim drank the last of his coffee and set the cup down, the beautiful woman walked around the sofa and towards Jim, he had set his work bag over the kitchen island.

“I always am” he smiled, passing an arm around her waist.

“No you’re not” she pressed her lips against his and Jim kissed her back, suddenly everything felt right in his life.

“I love you” he said.

“I love you too” she mumbled against his lips before Jim pulled away and turned to the coat rack, taking his coat and hat from there; work was waiting for him and his mind had to figure out how to introduce Willa to Leslie’s life.

Two lives had changed with a small chat at a fire escape, none of them aware of the changes that were going to follow.

 

 

__________//__________

 

Willa walked out of the store, a victory smile over her face, she had managed to secure the coffee table, the vase and a few other things for the Mayor’s office, she would have to come pick them up before the end of tomorrow, but she knew she could storage them at the hotel for a few days before she had to take them to the office.

She walked down the street, her handbag crossed over her shoulder and her umbrella held in her hand in case the weather decided to change and rain started to pour; she didn’t have to attend any meetings with her clients, which left her able to trade the pencil skirts for a pair of fitting, high waist black jeans.

Willa came to a stop at the end of the sidewalk her eyes focused at the other side, the streetlight still green for the cars, this was the kind of days she longed for when she had been younger, the days were the sun was high and the city wasn’t submerged into the cold, things were different now, she could enjoy these days, she could rejoice under the sun, she could finally breath like she hadn’t in such a long time.

Unwillingly, she reached up and her index finger touched the scar over her eyebrow, she had gotten it from her brother, he had been too rough, had thrown her too hard against the banister, her mother had told the doctors that she had fallen off her horse during practice; she had never owned a horse.

“It won’t happen again” Cillian had said, everyone had known it was a lie, it just meant that he would be more careful next time, make sure that he didn’t leave any marks on her.

Marks on the merchandise.

The color of the stoplight changed and turned to red, the people next to her started to cross the street and Willa followed them, she had learned to push back the memories of Cillian and her parents, but she was also very aware of that fact that those memories would always be a part of her.

She stepped on to the other side of the street and turned to her left, just as a young man walked by in a hurry, trying to make it to the other side before the light changed; their shoulders bumped as Willa looked down at her purse to pull her phone out.

“Oh, sorry” she gasped, her head snapping up and to the side as the man turned to look at her, not stopping his pace.

Their eyes met, his had to be the most amazing hazel color she had ever seen, his hair was neatly combed back, his lips gapped; he looked back at her, her olive eyes over him, the words she has spoken had been washed away with the car noises as he stepped away.

But their eyes stayed over each other.

She opened her lips to say something, she could feel the words forming but a knot had appeared in her throat; he frowned and turned his head to the side, he had reached the other end of the street, but either way they were still looking at each other.

Her beauty was unprecedented, his eyes mesmerized as he looked at her, only once in his life had he been so charmed by a woman; he took a step back to the street, to head back to her.

But as he saw beauty without compare, Willa saw something beyond that.

She saw a beautiful pair of hazel eyes, but she also saw the familiarity in them.

“ _Clint Rendell!”_ her mind finally screamed, because no one would ever have the eyes of Clint Rendell, those beautiful and dangerous eyes, those eyes she had trusted once.

Those eyes that had hurt her like no one had before him.

Her skin crawled horribly and her stomach turned and she tore her eyes away from him and took a step back, stumbling further into the sidewalk, her heart was racing madly in her chest, and she was panting like she had when she had been jogging, she stumbled to her side and her shoulder and back crashed violently against someone.

“Fuck!” She gasped loudly before she spin around completely and her eyes widened. “Oh my god!” she said, right before she covered her mouth with bother hands. “Oh my god” she mumbled through her fingers “I am so sorry!”

His eyes were as intense as always as he looked at her, without her heels he was still a bit taller than she was, he scanned her.

“Are alright?” he asked.

“Mr. Nygma, I’m sorry” she said, uncovering her mouth “I didn’t see you there, I’m sorry”

“Nothing to worry about” he explained “Are you alright?”

“Yes” she nodded “Just a bit distracted” she explained “I just saw someone that I thought I knew” she turned back to look at the other side of the street, but Clint was gone.

Edward turned to look follow her sight, but she turned to look at him, it was strange to see him outside the office, with the wind ruffling his hair and his eyes sharp on her.

“You’re an early riser” he said, before he turned to look at her, how different she looked without her pencil skirts.

“I was just making sure that the perfect coffee table wasn’t sold to anyone who wasn’t me” she explained. “It was just down the other street”

“And did you buy it?”

“Almost, I have to pay for it tomorrow” she explained “Part of what we talked about for the Mayor’s office”

“Ah” he nodded “It’s for Oswald” he seemed content by the tone of his voice “Well, would you rather make sure it isn’t sold?”

“Um” she narrowed her eyes as she looked at him “The credit we talked about gets activated tomorrow, Mr. Nygma, there really isn’t any trouble for me to buy it then”

He looked at her, and wondered how much help she would have been if they had had her on their side when they were doing the campaign for Oswald, she was energetic, proactive, she had a good eye.

And he wasn’t about to admit the last word echoing in his mind.

“Nonsense” he shook his head “It’s for Oswald’s office, and I still have half an hour to kill, lead the way”

“What?” she whispered.

“Lead the way, we’ll buy the perfect coffee table, make sure no one else gets it”

“That really isn’t necessary, Mr. Nygma” she shook her head, “I don’t want to bother you”

“I insist, and you are not bothering me”

She looked at him and narrowed her eyes as a small smile spread over her face, he had been harsh and defensive the first time they had met, but he had been warming up to her in the last few meetings, and if this was a chance for her to finally win him over, show him she was a good worker, then she wasn’t about to waste it.

“Ok, then” she said, the smile still over her face “Follow me then, Mr. Nygma”

She turned to the street and just as she did, his voice came to her, as the light changed once more from red to green.

“Edward”

She glanced at him as they started to walk to the other side of the street.

“Excuse me?” she asked, her eyebrow up.

“Call me Edward” he explained, she looked at him, and he looked back at her for a moment before she continued.

“In that case, call me Wilhelmina”

She turned to look straight ahead as he looked at her, his precise eyes catching a glimpse of the scar on her eyebrow, just light enough to be missed by any other person, but no him.

“Very well then” he nodded and they reached the other side of the street.


	11. Prettier

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The new furniture arrives to the office

Edward slammed the door of the car close, the unusual traffic had had him run late to the one day he was supposed to be here earlier than everyone else, irritation was oozing from him as he adjusted his glasses and hurried towards the entrance of the building; it was the day that the new things for the office would arrive, they would finally see the finished product, and he had managed to get there late.

This was not the way he liked to be.

He groaned as he saw the truck at the parking lot of the building, anger boiling even further and deeper inside him, he clenched his jaw and hurried towards the stairs, shoving the door open and stepping inside, a few heads turning to look at him and only one person brave enough to approach him.

“Mr. Nygma” whispered the woman, a thick carpet pressed to her chest, Edward glanced at her, annoyance evident in his eyes. “There’s someone waiting for you upstairs”

“Is the Mayor here?” he spat, his eyes narrowed, she shook her head.

“No, he hasn’t arrived yet”

Edward nodded and turned to the stairs that would lead him to the second floor, he was almost certain that Oswald had decided to stay at the office back at the house, he wasn’t too fond of the noise that was about to take place as the furniture was brought in, not to mention that Edward had the feeling that Oswald hadn’t liked Wilhelmina that much.

He marched down the hallway, his briefcase in his hand, and his mind racing to sort out all the things he had to do that day, and as he approached the office that he used more than Oswald himself, he saw the woman with golden hair push herself up to her feet.

Today she had traded her long pencil skirts for a pair of fitting pants and flats, a delicate and lose white shirt was tucked into her pants her hair was pulled back into a tight braid.

“Mr. Nygma” she smiled, her phone in her hand.

“Ms. Argent” he answered back to her, very aware that he had asked her to call him by his name. “I have to apologize for being late, the traffic was a nightmare”

“Don’t worry about it” she shook her head “We haven’t been waiting long” she adjusted her weight from one leg to the other “Anyway, we were waiting for you to start bringing in the furniture, if things go as planned, the office will be ready just before… she looked down at her watch “Just before noon” she looked up at him, a strand of hair flopping next to her ear.

“Of course” Edward agreed “Go ahead, you can begin”

“Perfect” she looked down at her phone and dialed rapidly, pressing her phone to her ear before she started to speak “Yes, Mr. Nygma is here, you can start brining things in, make sure to tell the men that they had to LIFT the objects, not drag them, ok?” she nodded “Yes, I’ll let him know” and with that she hung up the phone. “Mr. Nygma, could you please tell the security men that the things are going to be brought in?”

Edward looked at her for a moment, she was tall, but he towered over her on a few inches now that she was wearing flats instead of her usual high heels.

“Don’t worry” he answered, he walked around the young woman and headed towards his secretary’s office, she looked up at him and he picked up the landline before dialing down to the front desk. “The moving company is here, allow them in”

When he turned around Willa was already walking down the hallway and towards the stairs, he watched her go for a few seconds before he returned to the office, to wait and see if what they had paid her had been worth every cent.

 

___________//____________

 

Edward stood by the vintage desk in the office, the room had been emptied of all the old furniture, the only thing that remained from the old room was the antique desk, now overflowing with papers and a few decorations that Willa had set there, afraid that the men lifting the furniture would break any of it.

His eyes drifted towards the young woman, she was standing in front of one of the windows, her hands on her hips and her eyes up to the two men that were setting the new curtains, the light color made the room brighter and it already gave the impression that it was more spacious than before.

She turned on her heels, her braid flipping behind her as she marched towards the door, her eyebrows knitted together and one of her hands dropping from her hip; there was a determined look on her face, her eyes sharp and focused and her steps firm, and Edward wasn’t sure when the last time he had seen that steal look on someone else.

Willa poked her head out of the room, and Edward saw her shoulders tense up and before he knew it, she was marching out of the room with a quick pace.

“Hey!” her voice echoed inside the room, Edward hesitated for a moment but walked around the desk and towards the door as he heard her voice once more “Come on? Seriously? This is the third time I’ve told you this” Edward looked out the door, she was standing not far from a trio of men that were bringing the new sofa inside “Don’t drag it, lift it, and if I have to say it once more, I am firing everyone in here, am I being clear?”

There was no answer and Edward found himself expecting something sarcastic from one of the men to come out.

“Am I being clear?” she said once more, her voice was stern, sharp, the soft tone he had heard all the other times he had seen her, was gone.

“Yes, ma’am” said one of the men, and Edward could see the anger behind his eyes.

“Good” said Willa “Let’s get it inside then” and with that she turned around and walked back towards the room, her eyes met with Edward’s and she gave him a soft smile before she walked inside once more.

Edward watched her walk in for a few seconds, the pastel colors of her outfit were something that always seemed to pop out from everyone else in Gotham; he turned to the men holding the sofa and his eyes stopped over the one that had been angry at Willa, he was tall and slender, wavy hair held back; the man looked at Edward and they stared at each other for a few second before the man looked away.

Edward turned to look at Willa, she was adjusting the new carpet and the way she usually held herself and the way she talked, reminded Edward of the women that have learned how to survive in a world that’s run by men, women who have gained power and recognition through gritted teeth and bloody nails.

The kind of thing every woman out there had to do to live in a world of men, and that made Edward raise an eyebrow in amassment.

In wonder.

It took the group of men and Willa just till noon to finish, the young woman had dispatched the group to leave and Edward had had his eyes on the man with the wavy hair as he had left, his eyes had lingered over Willa as the young woman bent down to set a few books over the new coffee table and Edward saw in his eyes a predatory look that he did not like.

“And there you go!” she cheered, Edward’s eyes snapped back to her, she was standing next to the coffee table that he had accompanied to buy, her hands on her hips, her eyes scanning the room, a shine behind them as she took in every detail of the place and how it had transformed before their eyes. “What do you think?” her eyes landed over his, his already over hers.

“It looks spacious” he answered, she quirked an eyebrow as she looked at him. “It’s impressive” he nodded.

“Oh” she nodded “Ok,” she pushed her hands into the pockets of her pants.

“It was worth every penny spent” he explained, a soft smile appeared over her face “It looks fantastic, Wilhelmina”

“Thank you, Edward” she smiled and nodded, now that no one was around it felt right to call each other by their first names. “Let’s hope the Mayor likes it as well”

Edward knew he would.

“I’m sure he will” he agreed, he looked around the room for a moment, it was already big, but the light filtering inside, made it look bigger, a few of the bigger pieces had been replaced with more delicate ones and Edward had to say that he had never seen the office look this good.

“The pieces for the office at home will be ready in two days” she started, his eyes drifting back to her, only to find the woman had moved towards the desk, setting a few files over it now that the over flowing papers and objects had been set in their place. “I will let you know when the move could be done and then it’s up to you and Mr. Cobblepot as to what time you’d find it more fitting”

“Sounds right” Edward answered, he looked down at the papers she was showing him. “Should I sign these?”

“No” she shook her head, she looked up at him “I um… Mr. Cobblepot should be the one to sign it, seeing he was my employer”

“Perfect” Edward agreed, “I’ll give them to him tonight and I’ll have them delivered to you tomorrow”

“Great” she smiled, “Thank you”

“Of course”

“Well, Edward,” he looked up at her “I’ll be going now, I still have a few curtains to pick for Mrs. Faletti” she picked her hand bag from the desk “Please let me know what the Mayor thinks, and if he wants any changes done, I’ll gladly look into it”

“Don’t worry” Edward nodded “I’m sure he’ll like it”

Willa smiled and nodded, she set the handbag over her shoulder and for a moment hesitated before she took a step back, getting ready to leave the office; Edward’s eyes drifted down to the papers once more, and just as he was about to walk away, and with his eyes over the papers, his voice slipped out into the room.

“Mrs. Faletti?” he looked at her over his glasses.

“Yes” she answered, she looked down at the papers “Is everything alright?”

“Yes” he answered “Mrs. Faletti was the one who recommended you”

“Oh” a soft blush spread over her face “Oh, thank you” she wasn’t even sure what she was thanking Edward for, a soft smile appeared over his face.

“She’s having a gala this weekend” he pointed out.

“Oh, yes, I know” she nodded “She asked me to help her pick up a dress” she shrugged.

“Will you be attending?” he asked, his eyebrow quirked.

“No” she shook her head, her smile still there, she opened her mouth to add something, but Edward’s voice broke in.

“Would you like to attend?”

“What?” she said, her eyes narrowed as she looked at him.

“Would you like to attend the gala?” he asked, he shifted his weight from one leg to the other, he watched as a soft blush spread over her face. “The Mayor and I will be attending, and perhaps you’d like to join me”

Her eyebrows shot up as she looked at him, her lips gapped partially and he noted that her eyes were much more clearer than he had thought the first time they had met; and as he waited for an answer, he felt suddenly like he shouldn’t have asked her something like that.

“The Mayor will make an appearance but I will be there before he arrives and after, I was wondering if you’d be interested in joining me” he explained, not sure why he was still rambling “Of course, if you are not busy that night”

“I’m not” she answered, his eyebrows quirked up in surprise “I mean” she shook her head “I’m not busy that night” the blush intensified “I am interested in joining you, Edward”

“Fantastic” he said, and his voice had seemed to soften “I will deliver the details to your residence” she nodded “I’ll of course pick you up, if you find it fitting”

“I find it perfect” she nodded, and this time the soft blush that spread was on his face. “Thank you for the invitation”

“Thank you for accepting it, Wilhelmina”

“Willa, you can call me Willa” she shrugged “It’s shorter”

“ _It’s prettier”_ he found a voice in his mind whispering, he had no idea something prettier would be suggested that weekend.


	12. Feeling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edward has news, Oswald has feelings

Edward hadn’t stayed at the office long enough to run into Oswald, he had been called away to handle other issues that only had to do with the Mayor duties, and he had ended up running late at a meeting at one of Oswald’s club, getting home when the sun had already disappeared and finding that Oswald had arrived home early, something that didn’t happen much.

The tall man made his way to Oswald’s office, the room that would be transforming in a few days just like the one at the downtown office had; the door was partially opened, the light filtering out into the dark hallway and indicating that Oswald wasn’t particularly busy and wouldn’t mind Edward just walking in.

“Good evening, Oswald” said Edward as he entered the room, his briefcase in his hand but his coat had already been left at the coat rack, where it would be picked up and cleaned, and left back into his closet; he had to admit that he was and would always be incredibly grateful with the staff around the small manor.

Oswald’s head snapped up from the papers he was reading and towards Edward, he offered his friend a small smile, Edward pushed the door close and made his way towards the desk.

“Good evening, Ed” he said.

“How was your day?” asked Edward, he set his briefcase over one of the single armchairs in front of the desk and then sat down on the other one; the night outside had come with a soft and cool breeze, the obscene amount of noise from the city had been left behind and that was one of the things he liked the most about the house away from the city.

“Occupied” Oswald explained “But productive, how about yours?”

“Hectic” answered Edward, lately that was his answer to the question every day. “Where you by the office today?”

“Yes” Oswald nodded, he looked down at the papers he had been reading “I saw the new office”

“What did you think about it?” Edward set his hands over the desk and looked at Oswald, there had been something about his attitude that had changed the last few weeks and it had been itching Edward to ask, and yet he had been unable to do it and he wasn’t sure why.

Oswald looked up at Edward, the dark bags under his eyes seemed lighter tonight, brightening his eyes and as both men looked at each other, Oswald had to restrain himself from reaching out and touching one of Edward’s hands; he tensed his jaw before he cleared his throat, this was just getting harder by the day.

“It looks bigger” said Oswald finally, and even if he had told Edward that he didn’t like the idea of remaking the office, he had to give it to the young woman that she was exceptional at her job “I liked it, a lot to be honest”

Edward smiled softly and nodded once at Oswald, it was one of those soft smiles that had no strain in them, the kind of smile that wasn’t being forced, the kind of smile that only a few people had ever seen, and Oswald was incredibly grateful to be part of those people.

“Good, I liked it too” he nodded, he glanced to the briefcase at the other chair “I have a few papers I’d like you to sign, Oswald,” he turned back to Oswald “I’ll leave them over your desk tomorrow, no need to worry about it tonight”

“Thank you, I’ll look at them first thing tomorrow”

“How’s your knee?” Edward asked, entwining his hands over the desk, Oswald looked at him, and gave him a smile, the kind of smile that he only had for Edward.

“It’s been a good day” he answered “But if this night turns into a rainy one, I might have to take some pills” he shrugged, trying to act casual, but Edward knew better, they had been living in that same house for four months now and he would be damned if he didn’t know his friend a lot better than Oswald thought.

“I’ll have your pills refilled tomorrow” Edward said without missing a beat “The days have been getting colder and so have the nights”

Oswald nodded, his heart racing in his chest, for so long he had felt his feelings for Edward change, at first he had thought they were appreciation, or that maybe Oswald looked up at Edward, but then when his heart started racing at the simple things, he knew what it really meant.

When his heart started soaring at the small smiles Edward gave him, when Edward fixed him tea without Oswald asking, when Edward just wanted to share silences with him; it had been then that Oswald had realized what he really felt for Edward.

“Thank you, Ed” he finally said, his voice soft.

“Don’t worry about it,” Edward untangled his hands and pressed his palms over the desk before he pushed himself up to his feet.

“Your suit for the gala will be here tomorrow” Oswald said, looking up at Edward, the tall man quirked an eyebrow. “Ms. Summers gave me the message before I left, mine will also be here tomorrow”

“Sounds good” Edward pushed his hand into his pant pocket and pulled out his phone, he looked down at the screen and then looked at Oswald. “About the gala, there’s something I want to mention”

“Of course” Galas weren’t really his thing, but he knew they were public appearances that he had to endure, at least he wouldn’t have to be there all night like Edward would.

“I hope you don’t mind,” he started, and Oswald could already feel his heart racing in a bad way “But since you will be arriving later during the night, I took the opportunity to invite someone to join me while we are there”

A stinging sensation spread through Oswald’s chest, his heart skipping a beat and his palms instantly sweating; this was not what he had been expecting but it sure hurt a lot more than he thought it would.

“Isabella?” he asked, and just her name gave him a bitter taste on his tongue.

Something flashed behind Edward’s eyes for a split second, his head titled to the left slightly before he shifted his weight from one leg to the other and answered.

“No, not at all” he turned the phone in his hand “Willa Argent” he said.

Oswald’s eyebrows went up, that name he had not been expecting.

“Willa Argent?” he asked softly.

“Wilhelmina Argent, yes” he said, correcting himself from calling the woman by a nickname, feeling a heat spread in his chest at the mistake “The decorator”

“Oh” Oswald forced himself to nod at his friend, “I see, sure, I don’t see why not”

And of course he saw a hundred reasons as to why he didn’t want this to happen.

“Good” Edward nodded back “Well, I’m going to bed, you should get some rest too, Oswald, have a good night”

Oswald watched as Edward turned and walked towards the door, his phone in his hand and his briefcase left behind, usually Edward left it there, neatly set by the desk, but apparently today something had changed in his friend.

“Good night Ed” Oswald said, Edward stopped by the door and turned to look at him, offering Oswald a soft smile before he walked out of the room.

Oswald watched as Edward disappeared, he let out a breath and closed his eyes, his feelings had been getting clearer by the day, but it was also getting harder, because Edward offered him those private smiles but he talked about inviting someone to the gala, because this was just another thing that apparently Oswald would never have.

He was just like that.

He felt just like that, even knowing that it hadn’t been Edward’s intention to make him feel this way.

Oswald felt unremarkable.

But most importantly, Oswald felt unlovable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little angsty chapter before the gala and the thickening of this plot :D
> 
> And we are back with Gifs, becuase I had been neglecting Ozzy too much, <3


	13. Galas and Drinks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edward takes Willa to the gala.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gifeeeeeest <3 <3 <3

A soft drizzle was falling over Gotham, grey clouds gathering on the sky of a city that was used to being cold and grey and rainy; but as the world outside turned monochromatic, the insides of the shops shined with bright lights and colors and this one shop in particular, shined with the bright colors of the beautiful dresses.

This was probably something she wouldn’t have done if she hadn’t landed a job with the Mayor, but now that she had, she had to make sure that the good impression never died out.

Willa looked at herself in the mirror of the vast changing room, it fitted her like a glove, shining against the lights of the shop in a magnificent way, she pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes, she loved it, but then again she wasn’t sure if this was too much for a gala.

When she had been Maggie Shay, she had attended several galas, several events, to accompanied her parents, to be shown to the public, to be examined, and if her parents were lucky enough, to be chosen eventually.

But back then, her mother would chose her dresses, and now, her mother was thankfully gone and she wasn’t sure if this was too much, she turned slightly to take a look at the back of her dress when the door swung open, Willa looked up startled and her eyes landed over another woman.

Just not the woman who had greeted her when she had entered the shop, not the woman who had helped her gather the three dresses she had tried on.

“Oh” gasped the woman, she was beautiful, and had an equally beautiful dress hanging from her arm “I didn’t know this one was taken, I’m sorry”

“It’s ok” Willa shrugged with a soft smile on her face, “Don’t worry about it”

“That’s a really nice dress” commented the woman, she changed her weight from one leg to the other “No need to wear accessories”

“I know” smiled Willa wider, she turned to look at the mirror “I love it, but I’m not sure if it’s too much”

The woman approached her, her steps muffled on the carpet floor, she reached for the hanger and set her dress next to the ones Willa had already tried, she turned back to Willa, turning expertly on her high heels.

“What’s the event?” she asked.

“Mrs. Faletti’s gala event” explained Willa.

“Oh” the woman cheered up “I’m attending too”

Both women looked at each other through the mirror, the stranger behind Willa, she smiled at the new girl in town and then looked at the dress, its golden color shining bright against the lights about.

“I don’t think it’s too much” she shrugged “I think it suits you perfectly”

“Thank you” Willa smiled.

“And I think you should take it” she smiled, her fingers touched gently the sleeve of the dress “You can wear your hair up, a ponytail or a bun”

Willa cocked her head to the left and agreed with a soft nod, she had had her hair short for a long time, until she had been forced to let it grow long, her mother had said no one liked girls with short hair, but she had been wrong, Jim had liked her short hair, and for a moment, even brief, Clint had liked it too.

But most importantly, she had loved her short hair.

The thing was, she now had a nasty scar on the back of her neck, just a few inches before her hairline finished and she now used her long hair to avoid that from showing.

Her parents had even taken that away from her, her beautiful short hair.

“No reason to think about it anymore, then” Willa said, shifting her weight from one leg to the other, “I’ll take it”

“Great!” smiled the woman, she clapped her hands once in front of her chest and looked at Willa through the mirror. “You’ll be a sight”

Willa chuckled and shook her head, “Thanks”

“Any time” said the woman, she turned on her heels and took her dress of the hanger before she turned to leave the way she had gotten there. “I’ll see you at the gala then”

“Of course” Willa turned to look at her, the woman already walking towards the door, “Oh, I’m Wilhelmina Argent by the way”

“Nice to meet you, Wilhelmina” the woman smiled, she was warm and nice and her eyes shined as she looked at Willa “I’m Barbara Kean”

 

___________//____________

 

This was probably not what he had expected, certainly not how he had imagined the night to start, but then again he hadn’t given much thought to that part of the night, he had been too busy thinking and arranging things down at the office, after all that was his job and if Oswald and himself wanted to achieve with Gotham what they had talked about in private, then he had to keep his end of the deal.

Currently Edward was standing in the lobby, his hands behind his back, his suit as impeccable as everything he ever wore, his hair combed back and his eyes intense behind his glasses, the elevator beeped and the doors opened up, he took a step forward and Willa walked out.

His eyebrows shot up as she walked out of the elevator, she was holding a cream color clutch in front of her with both hands, her hair was pulled back on a low bun with a pair of lose strands of hair that she had currently pushed behind her ears.

She walked towards Edward, wearing a dress that seemed like it had been made specially and specifically for her, and only her.

“Good afternoon,” she smiled.

“Good afternoon, Willa” he nodded back at her, and only one word resonated in his mind as he greeted her.

“Ready to go?” she asked, her eyes drifted away from him and over his shoulder and towards the crystal doors, she could see the car outside, the cold wind brushing the hair of the driver and his jacket, she turned to look at him, with these heels she was a few inches taller than him.

“Ready” he answered, he offered her his arm, she looked at it and hooked her hand over his arm, just below the crook of his elbow, with that, Edward turned on his heels and they started to walk towards the door.

The hotel doorman pushed the door open and held it like that as Edward allowed Willa to go out first, her hand still over his arm, he followed closely as Gabe opened up the door of the car for them, Willa looked at him and gave him a small smile.

“Thank you” she whispered before she released Edward’s arm and climbed inside the car.

The car rolled down the street, the lights from the outside filtering inside, licking the shadows from her face, glimmering against her beautiful dress as she looked out the window, her clutch over her lap, with the index of her right hand she tapped her lower lip once before she turned to look at Edward, they had been driving in silence for a few minutes.

“Will the Mayor already be there?”

“No” Edward shook his head and then turned to look at her. “He will arrive later tonight, Oswald isn’t very fond about this events, his leg bothers sometimes”

“Oh” whispered Willa, she had seen the cane Oswald used, he’d seen the way he walked. “Sorry to hear that”

She turned to look back out the window, Edward watched her for a moment, she sucked in the side of her lower lip and narrowed her eyes before she turned back to look at him.

“Is he your friend?” she asked, he looked at her “Sorry,” she shook her head, the lose strands feathered against her cheeks “You don’t have to answer that, I just talk too much sometimes, sorry”

“Don’t worry about it” he used to talk a lot too, when he had been working at the GCPD “He is,”

She looked at him and nodded softly, “Where you friends before, the campaign and everything?”

“We were” he shrugged “We’ve been friends for a while”

“Nice” she smiled, but Edward could see something in the way her smile faltered, there was something sad about it, but the thing was, Edward didn’t know that there had only been one friend in Willa’s life and she’d left him behind in Gotham when she had been taken, forced to pretend that she was the perfect woman to become a trophy wife, forced with tears and blood to become the perfect daughter that her parents had always wanted.

The perfect woman.

The perfect wife.

The perfect thing.

“What about you?” he asked, Willa turned to look at him with an eyebrow quirked up “Do you have a business partner?”

“No” she answered without hesitation “It’s just me”

“And what brought you to Gotham?” he asked, the car took a turn, they were almost at the gala, she looked at him for a moment, she had mastered the art of lying a long time ago, she shrugged.

“ _Love”_ she wanted to answer but instead she said “I’ve been here before” that wasn’t a lie “My family had business with a man that used to live here, we’d come often when we were younger” she cocked her head to the left “I thought this would be a good place to start a business, I always liked it here, and so here I am after a long time”

“We were younger?” he asked, curiosity getting the best of him.

“I had a sister” she lied, everything would always be better than Cillian, even if it was a made up sibling. “She died almost seven years ago”

“I’m sorry” he answered, even if he couldn’t relate.

“Yeah” she shrugged and turned to the window, but the sadness that he had seen when they had been talking about friends wasn’t there now that they were talking about dead relatives and as the car pulled over, Edward found it incredibly strange.

 

___________//____________

 

Edward lead Willa around the room, her hand gently placed over his arm, both of them relaxing to being around each other in an environment that was not work related, several eyes being drawn towards Willa, both male and female.

“This place is beautiful” she whispered, she was looking around, she had been to a lot of galas when she had lived with her parents, but this one was one of the most beautiful decorations she had seen, she rejoiced in the fact that she had attended this gorgeous place with someone who wouldn’t beat the living days out of her when they returned home.

“It is” he agreed, they came to a stop and Edward looked around, the place was crowded, and even if he didn’t really like most of them, he was an excellent public relator. “Would you like something to drink?”

“I’d love it” she answered, they had been around for almost an hour now, Willa had watched Edward talk to a dozen people, the way he nodded and answered and narrowed his eyes reminded her of herself, people skills weren’t something he had been born with, it was something he had acquired, but it was something he was very good at.

“What would you like to drink?” he asked, she looked at him and shifted her weight from one leg to the other.

“Surprise me” she answered with a small smile, his eyebrow quirked up.

“Very well” he nodded, she slowly slipped her hand away from him.

“I’ll wait here”

Edward narrowed his eyes for a moment and then he was walking towards the bar, not far from where she was left standing, the young woman looked around, a pair of young women glanced at her, eying her from head to toe before turning to walk away, but it didn’t bother Willa, it never had, she had become used to them.

The young woman adjusted the strands of hair and glanced over her shoulder to get a look at Edward, he was standing sideways, waiting for his drinks when someone bumped against Willa’s shoulder; the young woman gasped and stumbled forward a few steps before she turned around to face the person who had crashed into her.

“I’m sorry” he said, his voice like silk, his hands were raised slightly up on his chest as if he’d reach out and grab her arm in case she had stumbled more.

Willa had to make an effort not to drop her jaw, her fingers dug harder into the clutch, her eyes over him and her heart racing, though she had realized this was a possible scenario she’d run into when she returned to Gotham, she had never actually believed it would happen.

“It’s fine” she was able to mumble as she looked at him, he was still beautiful.

“Are you ok?” he asked, an eyebrow shooting up.

“Yes” she answered “Don’t worry about it” she cleared her throat.

“Have we met?” he asked, and there was that twinkle in his eyes that she remembered so well, that twinkle that she had fallen in love with once.

“No,” she shook her head “No, I don’t think so”

“Really? You look familiar”

“I just have one of those faces” she shrugged.

“No” he smiled at her, almost as if she had just said something incredibly funny “You don’t” he shrugged “I’m Clint Rendell”

“ _I know”_ she whispered in her head “Wilhelmina Argent”

He extended his hand out to her and she felt her stomach turn, horror sweeping into her, an urge to vomit stretching up to her throat, she looked down at his hand and slowly forced her hand away from her clutch, she had touched disgusting things before, and for the sakes of this cover, she was about to touch another one, even if the disgusting thing looked like a man made by the gods.

“Nice to meet you” he smiled as he shook her hand, unaware that Willa’s skin was crawling. “You must be new in Gotham” he continued as he released her hand “I’ve never seen you before”

“I am” she nodded “I arrived a few weeks ago”

“And you know Mrs. Faletti from?” he asked, he pushed his hands into the pockets of his pants, beauty like the one this woman had, was not something easy to find and he wasn’t about to let her slip from his fingers.

“I work for her” she answered, she knew his game, the smiles were about to start popping, the elegant eyebrow movement, the silky voice, the way he lured in women with the looks he knew he had, with the intelligence he had, but she knew him.

He looked surprised, his eyebrows shooting up and his head cocking to the left gently, “Really?”

“I’m her interior designer” she explained.

“Ah” he smiled, “Then I already know who you are, she talks a lot about you”

“Good to hear that” she nodded, never in a million years she would have imagined herself talking to someone who had hurt her so deeply, and as they talked, she would have never guessed that he would have the audacity to not even remember her face, her eyes, what he had done to her.

“Are you here on your own?”

“No” she answered firmly, she looked over her shoulder but Edward wasn’t at the bar anymore, she felt her heart race as she turned back to Clint. “I’m here with Edward Nygma”

And that shocked him.

“Edward Nygma?” he asked, “I didn’t even think he would be attending”

“Well,” she shrugged “He’s here, and I came with him”

“Mr. Rendell” the voice slithered between them with a hint of annoyance.

Willa and Clint turned to the left and saw Edward, the man had walked up to them unknowingly, two flutes of champagne in his hands.

“Mr. Nygma” said Clint, his voice was cheerful, friendly, fake.

“Here you go, Willa” he handed her the drink.

“Thank you” she smiled at him, taking it from his hand.

“I see you’ve meet Ms. Argent” he said, turning to Clint.

“We have” he smiled at Edward “She was telling me that she works for Mrs. Faletti”

“She does” he agreed, “She works for Oswald as well”

A shadow crossed Clint’s eyes as he looked at Edward and then turned to look at Willa.

“Impressive” he said.

Willa took a step towards Edward and slipped her hand over his arm, his free hand inside the pocket of his pants, Clint’s eyes drilled into Willa and unwillingly she squeezed Edward’s arm; Edward slowly turned to look at her, she looked tense before she tore her eyes away from Clint and looked up at him.

“Well, Mr. Rendell” said Edward before turning to Clint “It was nice seeing you, but we are looking for Mr. Hopper, if you excuse us”

“Of course” he looked at Willa “It was a pleasure to meet you”

“Have a good night” said Willa, and with that Edward turned them to the side and started to lead the way away from Clint.

“Is everything alright?” he asked once they were far enough.

“He was just making me feel a bit uncomfortable” she answered, she turned to look at Edward “Sorry about that”

“Don’t be sorry about it” he looked over his shoulder but Clint was out of sight, he turned to her. “Are you ok?”

“Yes, I’m fine” she smiled and shook her head, she looked at her champagne and without a thought, she drank it all.

“Careful” he raised an eyebrow.

She chuckled “Thank god you didn’t get tequila because that would have burned like a bitch”

Edward’s eyebrows shot up in surprise just at the same time as a chuckle slipped from his lips, his eyes seemed to light up and Willa liked the way he looked when he wasn’t being all serious.

“I was gonna go for vodka” he joked.

“Oh, Mr. Nygma” she fake gasped, the hand she was using to hold the clutch flew up and landed over her chest as she looked at him. “Is it me, or are you trying to get me intoxicated?”

Edward’s chuckle turned into a short, but genuine laugh, “Was I that obvious?” he found himself saying, this wasn’t something he’d do easily, but it flowed so naturally out of him.

“Maybe you could work on your strategy for next time” she shrugged, her eyes over him, her smile on her face and Edward couldn’t help but smile back, his lips meeting with the edge of the glass as he took a sip from his drink, his eyes not leaving hers.

“I’ll keep it in mind” he finally said.

“You do that, Ed, you do that”

 

___________//____________

 

The drive back to Willa’s hotel was nothing like the drive to the gala, the silence that had filled most of the first drive was gone, Edward and Willa had shifted their bodies towards the inside of the car, talking rapidly, jumping from subject to subject, like they had done after the first joke had dropped when they had left Clint Rendell’s side.

Edward and Willa walked out of the elevator, he had left his jacket back at the car, his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows and to be honest, he had to admit that the night at the gala had not been the dreadful event he had thought it would be when they had first been invited, he had had a fantastic night.

“I had a fantastic time, Ed” she said, having dropped calling him Edward a long time ago.

They walked down the hallway “So did I” he said, “I’m glad you could come”

“I’m really glad you invited me” she shrugged, they reached the door and came to a stop, the young woman looked down at her clutch and opened it, she pulled out the card key from her room and slipped it over the sensor and the light turned to green, she grabbed the handle and pushed it open.

The young woman ruffled her hair, she had taken off the bun during the car ride and her usually straight hair had a few soft waves that looked really good on her, but then again, everything about tonight had looked really good on her.

“Do let me know when you get home, please” she said, and a soft blush spread over her face, he looked at her.

“I will” he nodded, no one ever really asked him to let them know that he had reached his destination safely.

“Thank you for tonight” she glanced inside the room and then turned back to Edward.

“Hopefully we’ll be able to do it again” he said, she looked at him and pressed her lips into a thin line as her mouth curved into a smile.

“I’d love that” she whispered.

Edward smiled and nodded “Have a good night, Willa”

“You too, Ed”

He took a step back as she walked into the room, and just as he was about to turn around and head towards the elevator, he narrowed his eyes and added.

“By the way,” she looked at him “I didn’t know if you’d think it was inappropriate then, but you looked gorgeous tonight”

Her blush intensified “Thank you, Mr. Nygma”

He smiled and gave her a soft nod before he was walking down the hallway and back to the elevator, and he realized that while he did mean that she looked beautiful, it had been another word the one that had struck him the instant he had seen her walk out of the elevator at the beginning of the night.

Gold.

That had been the word.

She had looked golden, somehow that had meant more than gorgeous, but he had kept it to himself, because he wasn’t sure it would have been appropriate, but that was the truth.

She had looked golden, golden in a word of dull and withered and common.

She was golden and fresh, and he had had a fantastic night.


	14. Tears and Tea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edward returns from the gala, Oswlad talks to someone.

The footfalls echoed softly down the corridor, the silence of the house made them easier to be heard, not that it would have mattered if there had been any noise inside, Oswald would have heard the steps anyway as he lay awake on his bed, his eyes focused on the dark ceiling.

It was late, and he was just coming back home, oh so very late, Oswald shut his eyes tightly as he clenched to the sheets, he had been prepared to walk into the gala and that it would be easy to pretend to talk to all those people, as long as Edward was next to him.

But then he saw it, it was the first thing he had seen when he had walked into the room with Nico close behind, Edward was smiling, holding a flute in his hand and looking at the young woman in front of him, the girl wearing the golden dress and looking spectacular, of course Edward was looking at her; but there had been the way he had chuckled and the way his eyes had shined when she had placed her hand over her chest.

And Oswald had felt pain shoot through his body like nothing before, he had winced and had looked away, pretending he hadn’t seen the man he loved laughing like he never did, with a girl he had just met.

If things hadn’t been already horrible, he had walked up to them, greeted Willa and Edward and then he had talked around with the people in the gala, and he had had Edward by his side, talking and nodding at what Oswald said; Willa had remained next to them but mostly she had stayed silent.

Edward had walked with him to the door when Oswald had been ready to leave, the golden girl had walked next to him, and as Oswald got in the car, he had turned to look at them and Edward’s eyes were back on hers, his lips were moving, already stretched into a smile, and she was nodding rapidly, her hair moving around her face, and Oswald could see why he liked Willa.

Willa was beautiful in ways no one else in that room had been.

When Isabella had left Edward, Oswald had been relieved, Edward had been hurt but he had moved forward, and Oswald had had Edward all to himself, and now, now this girl had popped out of nowhere and Edward had looked star stroked at that gala.

“Ed” she had called him, and Oswald had been so hurt, until then, he had been the only one calling him that.

But now it was Ed.

Willa and Ed.

Ed and Willa.

Oswald and Edward.

He pressed his lips into a thin line, trying his best to swallow down the knot in his throat, but it was hard, it was hard to feel like this when he had felt so accepted by Edward.

“Please no” he whispered into the empty room as Edward changed into his pajamas in the room down the hall.

Oswald’s heart aching in the darkness of his room as Edward texted Willa letting her know that he had made it home.

The darkness and the light.

The pain and the joy.

And even then, as he wished the earth could swallow Willa whole, he would have never guessed what was yet to come.

 

___________//____________

 

The day was cloudy, a cool wind was blowing through the city as a soft drizzle fell down, and Oswald couldn’t help but think that the weather was starting to match the way he had been feeling; a week since the gala had gone by, but Edward’s smile was tattooed to his mind, his friend had been buzzing around the house with certain energy that Oswald wasn’t sure how to read.

Oswald and Edward had reached a step in their relationship in which they found it easy to read each other’s moods, but so far, Oswald had been unable to tell if the way Edward walked around the house was something good or something bad, was he excited or was he anxious, all he knew was that he hated not knowing and that he hated the way he could no longer read Edward, blinded by his own hurt and jealousy.

Currently Edward had left the office in a hurry, he had had a frown over his face, rambling about an imbecile downtown at one of the clubs that Oswald owned, but he had assured Oswald that he would control the situation and then they could decide what to do with the imbecile.

“Don’t worry, Oswald” Edward had said, he knew his knee had been bothering him that day “I’ll take care of it, I’ll be back in a few hours” and he had given Oswald a small smile, that he never gave anyone else and he had been gone.

He looked down at his papers, he had been scribbling and doodling nonsenses, unable to concentrate on anything as he tried to push aside the pain in his knee and the way Edward had been smiling.

God, everything always came back around to Edward’s smile.

His pen drew yet another shapeless figure on the paper when a soft knock on the door snapped him out of his thoughts and worries; Oswald looked up and frowned, he hadn’t been expecting to meet with anyone for the next half hour.

Silence ruled both sides of the door for a few seconds before Oswald spoke.

“Come in”

The door was pushed in a few seconds later, a slim hand appearing before the rest of the body, she was wearing heels like usual, this time there was no skirt or pants, but a flowy grey dress that danced against her knees.

“Mr. Mayor” she spoke as she walked into the room, her hair falling over her shoulders like liquid gold.

“Ms. Argent” he said, a bit surprised to see her there, he placed his hands flat over his desk and pushed himself up, his leg hissing painfully as he did so, but she didn’t seem to notice.

“How are you?” she asked, her briefcase on her left hand, she walked towards the desk.

“Busy” he answered shortly, this was the last person he wanted to see. “What can I do for you? Edward is not here at the moment” and he felt acid in his stomach as he mentioned Edward to Willa.

“I know that” she nodded and looked around the office that she had decorated just a few weeks ago, it looked beautiful. “I wasn’t looking for him” she turned to look at Oswald “I was hoping to talk to you”

“Is that so?” he asked, his eyebrow rising as she reached the other side of the desk.

“Yes” she nodded, she set her briefcase over one of the empty chairs “I brought some papers for you to sign and a few drawings I’d like you to see for the other office” he frowned “I know we agreed on a design, but I have an idea that you might like, and I wish you could see it”

“You could have send the papers with Ed”

“Not really” she shook her head “You are my employer and I wanted to give you the papers directly to you” she shrugged and turned to her briefcase “Not that I don’t trust Edward, it’s just that that’s the way I work” she opened the briefcase and pulled out a file before she turned to look at him.

“Thank you” he took the file from her hand and set it over the desk.

“My phone number in case of anything, is at the bottom of the last page” she explained “In case you want to call me directly, if you don’t, then Edward has my number” she nodded and looked at Oswald. “I hope you have a good day, Mr. Mayor”

“Did you have a good time?” he blurt out, not really meaning it, but he just needed to know, he was boiling inside to know.

She looked at him for a moment, not really sure what he was talking about, her hazel eyes over his, her golden hair giving her an illusion of shining and as they looked at each other, just a few inches away, Oswald noticed she had a small scar over her eyebrow.

A scar that not even Jim knew had been given to her by Clint Rendell, a scar that had come after Clint had slapped her so hard she had stumbled back and had hit the edge of the wall behind her, blood had poured out, but Clint had gone on screaming and he had slapped her again and he had thrown her to the floor, and she had covered her face, the blood rushing down as her brother watched from the other side of the room.

But despite everything, Oswald could understand perfectly why Edward liked her, she was stunning, and she was smart and serious and professional.

“The gala?” she asked.

“Yes”

“Yes, I did” she nodded, a small smile drawing over her face “I had a good time”

“Glad to hear that” he was by all means not amused by that answer.

“I wish we could have talked more” she nodded at him “But I understand, it’s a professional environment” she shrugged “I hope you had a good time as well”

“I did” he lied.

“Good” she knew he was lying, she could just tell by the way he was looking at her, she had gone through years of learning how to read people, and she was really good at it, it had saved her life at the end of the day. “Anyway, I should get going” she took her briefcase “Have a good day, Mr. Mayor”

He nodded but said nothing, she turned on her heels and walked towards the door as he sat back down, his leg screamed loudly, the cold weather working on him, and Oswald couldn’t help but wince as he dropped back over the chair.

“Are you ok?” she asked turning to look at him and remembering what Edward had said about Oswald’s leg.

“Fine” he hissed, “Just my leg”

“Oh” she nodded, she bit her lower lip for a second as Oswald glared at her, wanting to bark at her to leave but not doing it because she was Ed’s friend. “I hope I’m not over stepping here,” she continued “But you should try Turmeric tea”

He raised an eyebrow as they looked at each other.

“I had a few issues with my ankle when I was younger” an issue she had gotten from her brother “It helped me a lot, its for joint pains”

“Right” whispered Oswald.

“If you’d like to, I could write down the recipe, my grandmother gave it to me” it hadn’t been her grandmother, but Jim’s, but it felt like it had been her grandma.

Oswald doubted for a second, but something inside him made him remember his mother and all those natural medicines she would give him, and he felt himself relax briefly as he nodded at her and she walked back towards the desk, her stride had changed, she seemed to float, she smiled at him and it looked genuine, like she was glad to be helping him.

And the truth was, she was happy to help Oswald.


	15. Voices

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jim talks to Les, Edward hears that familiar voice in his head

The night had descended over Gotham with a harsh wind and heavy rain, the drops were splashing rapidly and violently against the window of Jim’s apartment as he looked out into the street, his arms crossed over his chest, his eyes watching as the cars drove by but he wasn’t really looking, and his mind had tuned out the TV background noise.

A thought had been going round and round in his head all day, and now he was standing in the living room, waiting for Les to get out of the shower so he could talk to her.

He knew that she could tell that something was going on with, he could see the way her eyes scanned his face, trying to figure out if he was ok or if he was hiding something, he could hear the way her tone changed and to be truthful, he had been hiding something from her, he had chosen not to tell her about Willa and in doing so, he had been lying every time he had gone out to meet with her.

He tore his eyes away from the window and looked over his shoulder, the door of the room was open and light was streaming out into the living room, he casted his eyes down to the streak of light on the floor and as he watched it, a shadow crossed the light; Les was out of the shower.

Jim knew he’d probably have to lie about why he hadn’t told Les about Willa before, but he could deal with that, at least he would have gotten the big lie out of his chest.

Well, partially at least.

He turned around and made his way towards the bedroom, he uncrossed his arms and sighed, he hated lying to Les, but the thing was, Willa had a part of his heart and soul that no one ever would, a part of him had always belonged to Maggie, now Willa, and he knew that part of her would always belong to him.

That’s just who they were, she had disappeared years ago, but by no means had that meant that she had left his thoughts or his heart, Maggie had been the first person, outside his family, that he knew he loved, and the fact that her name was now Willa didn’t not change that.

Les was standing with her back towards him, she had already pulled on a pair of panties and her bra, she was looking inside the closet for a shirt when he spoke.

“Hey” his voice was soft, his voice was hers.

Les jolted softly before she turned around to look at him, her dark hair was dripping water over her shoulders.

“Hi” she smiled, she popped her hip to the left and set her hand over it.

Jim pushed his hands inside the pockets of his sweatpants and walked inside the room and towards the bed, Leslie watched him until he sat down, and if she knew, and she did, she could tell that he wanted to talk about something.

“Les, there’s something I want to talk to you about” he started.

The woman looked at the man he loved and slowly made her way towards his side, sitting down gently next to him, she turned her body to face his and smiled softly.

“I’m all ears” she said.

“The last few weeks I’ve been a bit distracted” he acknowledged the obvious because Leslie had to be the complete opposite of oblivious, Leslie remained silent, she wanted to hear what he was going to say, “Work has been terrible, Oswald’s men have been you know” he shrugged “Oswald’s men” he sighed and she smiled sweetly, encouraging him to continue “Anyway,” he looked down at his hands “I want you to meet someone, Les” he looked up at him.

From all the things she had expected him to say, this was probably the last one on her list, she narrowed her eyes and cocked his head to the left slightly, she wasn’t sure what he meant by that, but the thing crossing her mind was not really that good.

“Um, who would that be?” was the only thing that came out of her mouth, she didn’t want to be that kind of person, but she was really hoping this wouldn’t end in Jim telling her that he had a child he didn’t know about until a few weeks ago.

“Her name is Willa Argent” he explained, and he found that saying her name felt just as natural as calling her by her birth name, he saw Les tense up, so he continued “She used to come to Gotham a lot when she was younger, our parents knew each other” that last part was not a lie, he gave her a soft smile “She… she’s my best friend, and I’d like you to meet her”

Leslie looked at him for a moment, her eyes piercing over his and not once did he look away, his eyes shined and he seemed genuine, he believed it.

“Ok” she finally spoke softly, “Ok” she nodded “And she’s visiting again?”

“No” Jim shook his head “She moved to Gotham” he shrugged “She’s working for the Faletti as their interior designer” he shook his head again, his blond hair dancing around “I just thought it would be good for you two to meet, you know?”

And Leslie could see that this girl, this Willa, meant a lot to him, and there was nothing in the way he was talking and sitting and looking at her that told her that he could be possibly lying.

“I think that would be nice” she nodded and gave him a smile, and Jim smiled back but she couldn’t see, she couldn’t understand how much this meant to him, how much it meant for him that she meet Willa, how much it meant that the two women he loved the most meet.

 

___________//____________

 

Edward was fuming, he could barely contain it inside, his hands were shaking, his heart was beating like a sledgehammer and he could feel that voice in the back of his mind, that voice that sounded so much like his but so different at the same time; he was storming out of the building, he hated this, hated having to do the job of others, and yet here he was, making his way down the stairs of the building and towards the main entrance because a group of incompetent imbeciles had been unable to do their job.

This was the last time he came over here to deal with any of this, his briefcase was dangling from his hand as he stormed out of the building, the automatic doors opened for him and the cool air hit his face but it did nothing to soften the voice inside screaming with anger and it was just mid-morning, he took a turn to head to the stairs that would lead him to the sidewalk, this had been…

_Wam!_

The crash against him made Edward stumble back, his grip on his briefcase disappeared and the dropped from his hand and skidded on the damp floor, his body tensed and the voice inside his head became silent for a moment but he felt the rage boiling before he was able to focus on the person who clearly had not been watching their step.

“Jesus!” the voice came out as the objects from the other person landed on the floor, the phone landed near Edward’s briefcase and the umbrella landed a few inches behind Edward. “I’m so sorry!”

The voice inside him took a deep breath, ready to bark and destroy anyone on his path, he looked up from his fallen items, his mouth gaped and the words never came, the words vanished on the tip of his tongue as his eyes focused on the other person; she was just looking up at him, her golden hair dancing around her like liquid gold, shining bright even under the grey skies of Gotham.

“Willa” he said instead.

“Ed!” she gasped, a soft smile forming over her face “Oh my god, I’m so sorry!” she shook her head “I was answering an email, I’m so sorry!” she looked down at her things and bent down quickly.

She reached out to grab Edward’s briefcase first, her handbag slipped from her shoulder and landed on the curve of her elbow, hitting the floor slightly, she adjusted it with her free hand and turned to Edward, she pushed herself up and grunted slightly.

“Here you go” she handed him the briefcase, Edward looked down at it for a moment, almost as if he didn’t recognize it, his mind realizing something else entirely. “Are you ok?”

“What?” he whispered.

“Are you ok?” she frowned, she took a step forward.

“Yes” he nodded, he looked down at the briefcase and took it from her hands, her fingers felt a bit cold under the touch. “Thank you”

“Of course” and with that she knelt down once more and grabbed her phone, Edward watched her for a split second before he turned around and walked over towards the discarded item, he picked it up swiftly and when he turned around, Willa had already finished sending her email.

“I’m sorry I didn’t see you” she sighed, pushing her phone into the outside pocket of her bag “I wasn’t paying attention”

“Don’t worry about it” he nodded, he pushed his glasses up his nose, he glanced at her and noticed that he had never seen her look so casual.

The young woman had her hair draping over her shoulders, and her elegant pants and skirts and dresses had been replaced by a pair of fitting jeans and a white blouse, and her heels had been exchanged for a pair of light violet shoes.

She looked up at him, a strand of hair had slipped out of the perfectly combed hair and somehow, he managed to make even that look serious and professional, but she could see the way his shoulders were tense, the way he held himself; the thing was, when she had been forced into submission by her family, she had learned to read people, learned to see in others what no one else was looking for.

That had saved her life at the end of the day.

“The meeting went that bad?” she asked, she shifted her weight from one leg to the other.

“What?” he looked at her with a soft frown.

“You look like you’re having a bad day” she shrugged, she looked down at her watch “And its just ten thirty in the morning” she looked up at him “Was the meeting that bad?”

“Worse” he admitted “But I can handle it, I’ll fix it” he hissed.

“I’m sure you can” she offered him a smile and cocked her head to the left, he looked at her for a moment, comments like that had been made when he had been working at the station and they had been mostly intended to offend him, but she was looking straight up to him, her posture was relaxed and she seemed genuine.

“I didn’t mean to sound rude” he finally broke the silence.

“I know” she shrugged “You are just stressed out, I get it”

“Are you in a hurry?” he asked, he rolled his shoulders back and he felt his back relax.

“Not really” she answered, she had to deliver some papers for the rent of an apartment she had seen, but they weren’t expecting the papers until later tomorrow. “Are you?”

“I was” he agreed, but the voice on the back of his head had pointed out something to him. “But I think it can wait”

“Are you sure?” she asked, but there was a soft smirk drawing over her lips and her eyebrow, the one with the oh so soft scar, slowly started to rise.

“I think the office should learn how to exist without someone solving all of their problems” he explained casually, there was no mocking tone, no self-grandeur.

“Have they been misbehaving?” she chuckled, she shook her head with amusement and her hair waved around her, her golden hair that against the grey city looked like light chasing away the shadows.

“You could say they have” he agreed, he felt his lips twitch into a smile, and Willa had to admit that Edward looked nice when he smiled.

“Well, we can’t let that happen, am I right?” she popped her hip to the left and set her hand over it, her eyes over his.

“That would be unacceptable, Ms. Argent” he followed along with her, and the way her smile appeared to get bigger was worth it.

“So, what do you have in mind, Mr. Nygma?” she raised an eyebrow at him before she pressed her lips into a line, trying to hide the smile she was having trouble containing.

“At what time are you expected to return to your designer duties?” he asked, and this all just seemed to flow naturally between them.

“At three” she answered, her voice had lowered down “Why?”

“That leaves time for coffee and lunch” he shrugged, he gently placed the tip of the umbrella against the floor and leaned gently over the curved handle of the item “That is, if you find it appropriate”

Willa looked at him and smiled, pouting her lips a little bit, this was certainly not the way she had pictured Edward, but after the gala they had shifted, they had talked all night and he had made her laugh and she had seen him smile and fully interested in her stories, and if someone had told her that this was how she would end up interacting with Edward Nygma after he had been so obvious about his dislike in hiring her.

“I find it very appropriate” she answered.

“Perfect” he nodded, he stepped towards her and extended his arm towards her, just like he had done when they had been at the gala. “Shall we?”

Willa blushed softly, somehow outside from the gala and the fancy people, she found Edward much more charming and captivating, Edward looked at her and she stepped forward towards him, her delicate hand landing gently over the curve of his elbow. The fabric of his jacket was soft and mindlessly she rubbed her thumb twice over it before she stopped herself, and they started to walk.

The thing was, and Edward hadn’t notice it instantly, but he had felt it rather quickly, and he was surprised, but the voice in the back of his head slowly whispered.

“ _Why? Why are you surprised, Ed?”_

“ _Because you’ve never shut up so quickly”_ Edward pointed out as he walked down the stairs with Willa holding his arm.

There was a brief silence, Edward glanced at Willa as they reached the car, she looked down at the reflection on the window and then glanced at him, Edward offered her a smile as Nico pulled the door open up for them.

“ _Really?”_ the voice in his mind asked, sounding a bit surprised at Edward’s statement and then it continued soft and as it vanished for the time being “ _Well, would you look at that”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it took too long but here it is!!! Please let me know what you think about it, and any guesses of what may come next now that Dark Ed or The Other Ed have come into play!!! and of course what you guys think Les might think or make out of Willa 
> 
> Let me know!!! Love to all :D <3 <3


	16. The Threat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A voice makes a threat, and something slips out of Edward's mouth.

The night had crept into the big old mansion, the cool wind outside was blowing against the windows as Edward sat in the kitchen, he was staring out the window but he wasn’t really looking, his fingers mindlessly playing with his phone as his mind retraced everything that had happened earlier that day; it had been just half an hour ago that he had finally been able to finish work for the day and now, now he had time for himself.

He narrowed his eyes, the sky outside was tainted with a dark blue, the night taking its time to fall over Gotham that day.

“ _She seemed interesting”_ he heard the voice in his mind, he frowned but didn’t engage it “ _Almost fascinating”_ Edward shifted his body, leaning further over the kitchen island, but he remained unresponsive to the voice in his head. “ _I can’t believe I had never noticed her”_

His frown deepened “ _I can’t believe that either”_ he finally answered, this was not the first time he had been talking with Willa, which made it hard to believe that the other Ed hadn’t acknowledged her existence.

“ _After the first meeting, I just figured she was another one from the bunch”_ the voice said casually.

“ _And what changed?”_ he asked, and he could feel the anger boiling in him, why was he even engaging in this kind of conversation? Why did he even bother to pay attention to this voice? The voice that usually brought him more trouble than it did anything else? Why did he even care what the other Ed thought about Willa?

“ _You know why you care”_ Dark Ed whispered back, almost as if he had a mocking smirk on his face as he talked to Edward.

“ _You can’t just dispose of her”_ Edward hissed “ _She works for Oswald, he’d ask questions, and we would have more work to do if she suddenly vanished”_

And neither Ed knew that she just happened to be Jim’s best friend.

“ _You say it like those were impediments of disposing of her”_ the voice snorted “ _But like I said, she seems interesting, but more surprisingly, she seemed interested in what you were telling her”_ Edward rolled his eyes “ _You should have listened to me, taken my advice to talk about something else, but you’ve been doing an awful good job at ignoring me lately, and quite frankly, I don’t appreciate that, Ed”_

“ _I have my doubts about her liking your conversational subjects better”_ Edward sighed “ _And at the end of the day, you don’t get to choose what I say or do”_

“ _Don’t be so sure about that, Ed”_

But before Edward could answer back, a female voice broke into the kitchen and the dark voice inside his mind slowly slipped back into the shadows, leaving the words behind to echo loudly in Edward’s mind.

“Mr. Nygma”

Edward turned to look over his shoulder before he turned around completely on the high chair, the woman who helped around the kitchen was looking at him.

“Ah, Mrs. Connors” he nodded back at her.

“Would you like me to get you something to eat? Or perhaps you are waiting for Mr. Cobblepot to arrive?” she looked at him, her face soft and her eyes shiny.

“Neither” he shook his head “Don’t worry about me” he turned to the coffee machine that he had set when he had sat down at the kitchen island “I’ll just have some coffee and head to my room”

“Of course, sir” and with that she turned on her heels and walked away, Edward following her with his sight for a moment.

It made him uneasy, that much he was willing to admit, the voice that spoke to him made him feel uneasy a lot of the times, the way it just slithered in and out of him mind, leaving the echoes of his words to resonate in his brain for hours, sometimes even managing to tattoo the words into his being forever; there was just something about it that made him uneasy.

The thing that Edward wasn’t ready to admit yet, what that it made him uneasy because he liked most of the things the voice said, he just knew that he shouldn’t like them.

But tonight, as the voice talked about having no impediment in disposing of Willa, Edward realized he was not on board with that, Willa so far had proven to be a great worker and she was a very pleasing company; and if there was something that Ed knew about the voice, it was that the more he found someone interesting, the less likely it was that the urges of disposal returned.

He turned to his phone and picked it up swiftly, unlocking it rapidly and before he knew it, he had it pressed against his ear as he waited for the person at the other end to pick up.

The phone rang three times, and just as Edward was considering hanging up, the words broke into his ear.

“Hello”

He hesitated for a moment “Hello” he finally said.

“Edward, hi”

“Wilhelmina,” he greeted her back, on the back he heard something move, like a chair being pushed back.

“How are you?” she asked, walking towards her room.

“I’m doing fine” he answered “How about you?” he narrowed his eyes and turned his gaze back towards the window that he had been looking out, again staring but not looking at anything.

“I’m good,” she sat down over the bed.

The words reached his mouth but he held himself back for a moment, he felt it then, that buzzing in his ears that usually came before the voice, and a bitter taste appeared in his mouth.

“Are you there?” she asked, her voice was soft, snapping him out of his thoughts.

“Do you have any plans tomorrow?” he finally asked, half of his brain not really registering the question she had just asked him.

The question caught her by surprise, she frowned for a moment and looked down at her feet, she was wearing mismatched socks, she cleared her throat and answered.

“No, not really” she answered, she had had a really good time with Edward on all the occasions where they had been together outside of the work environment, and to be honest, she thought he was nice and smart and he was also incredibly handsome. “I was just getting done with some things that have to be delivered to Mrs. Faletti” she looked up, straight towards the turned off TV and continued “What do you have in mind?”

“I was wondering if you’d like to have breakfast together tomorrow”

He couldn’t see her, but a small smile spread over her face, she nodded and then answered “Yeah, that sounds nice”

“Does nine sound good?” he asked, he looked down at the kitchen island, his free hand was over the surface.

“Sounds great”

“I’ll pick you up around nine then” he nodded, she nodded too even if they couldn’t see each other.

“I’ll be ready”

“Have a good night, Willa” he said, and she had the impression that his voice had softened a bit, but she wasn’t sure if it was just her imagination.

“Have a good night, Ed” she smiled “I’ll see you tomorrow”

And with that they both hung up the phone, Edward set the item over the island and looked at it, a soft smile over his lips before he pushed the chair back and stood up; it had been a long time since Isabella had left his life, and currently his group of friends consisted mostly in just Oswald, not that that bothered him, in fact he couldn’t imagine his life without Oswald, but there was a part of him that wanted to know Willa, and another part that wanted her to be interesting enough to stop the voice from wanting to dispose of her.

“ _You know its much more than just what I said”_ the voice whispered oh so softly that Edward wasn’t sure if he had heard it or not.

 

___________//____________

 

The rain was falling rapidly and harshly, rolling down the big windows of the small café, lightning and thunder flashing and echoing around the city that was already used to rainy days and nights; but inside the café, the atmosphere was different, the aroma of coffees and teas and chocolate mixed together perfectly, filling up the lungs of the costumers, and the warm feeling of the shop was making it hard for the people to head out into the grey and rainy morning.

The door of the café was pushed open and the shop was filled by the muffled laughs coming from Wilhelmina Agent, her fingers pressed against her lips and a few water drops rolling down her jacket as Edward finally managed to close the umbrella and stepped inside after her.

“I’ll handle the umbrella next time” she chuckled, she turned to look at him, he looked at her and gave her a soft nod, she had gotten used to his lack of laughs or smiles. “At least the place is warm” she added before she turned away from him and looked around the shop. “I see a table at the back”

She reached to him and her hand wrapped around his wrist, she gave him a soft pull and started to walk, releasing his wrist when he stated to follow after her.

The pair shrugged off their coats before sitting down at the round table that had been set for two, Willa hanging her handbag over the chair as well, and Edward setting the umbrella against the wall before he sat down in front of Willa.

“This place is nice” she looked around, when Edward had picked her up that morning she had been tempted to suggest the café where she had talked to Jim that first time after all those years; but her heart had decided to keep that place for herself and Jim for as long as she could.

“And the food is really good as well” he said, he looked at her, the relaxed look that she had had the day before was back

The office dresses had been left behind, she was wearing a pair of dark jeans with a loose knitted sweater and a pair of black loafers that she had gotten on a pretty store downtown and her hair falling over her shoulders.

The waitress walked up to them, smiling down at them and handing the menus, her name was Delaine and she would be back in a few minutes to get the order; Edward looked down at the menu, Willa glanced down at hers, and then glanced up at him gently, from under her lashes as his eyes scanned the items on the menu.

He furrowed his brow very slightly and his glasses slipped gently down his nose, but not enough to have to be pushed back up, his eyes stopped moving over something and it was then that she decided to look down at her menu and get her order ready for Delaine.

Delaine scribbled down the order quickly, glancing at Edward twice, she was sure she recognized him, she just wasn’t sure where she had seen him before, and then she had hurried away with the menus and had left the pair sitting in silence.

“ _Silence, how charming, Edward”_ the voice slithered in, Edward tensed his jaw and moved his head slightly to the left.

“Is everything ok?” asked Willa, she leaned slightly over the edge of the table.

“Of course it is” he nodded “Why wouldn’t it be?”

She raised an eyebrow at him, the tone in his voice was steady like usual but there was an undertone that resembled annoyance.

“Well,” she shrugged, and pushed herself away from the table, Edward recognizing instantly the way she was pulling away from him, not just physically “You haven’t said much since we met, and you don’t sound like everything is alright” she looked down at table for a moment and then turned up to look at him “If you rather we do something else, or if you think we should put a raincheck on this, you can tell me”

“ _Good job”_ the voice cackled in his head.

“Have I made you feel uncomfortable?” he asked, he frowned slightly, surprised with her statement.

She frowned and turned her head slightly to the left “Um, no” she answered “But I think I’ve made you feel uncomfortable”

“You haven’t” he shook his head and sighed “I’m sorry” he swallowed and made an effort to push back the voice that was so eager to slither into his centered mind, he leaned forward on the table.

“Is everything ok?” she asked, she leaned a bit forward, her fingers slipping over the edge of the edge of the table.

“I just had a terrible headache last night” he lied, “It was lingering a bit this morning, but it has nothing to do with you, I want to have breakfast with you”

She smiled, soft but genuine, not the kind of smile that he had seen her offer to the other people at the gala.

“Great, because I want to have breakfast with you” she shrugged just as Delaine returned to the table with the mugs, one of hot coffee and the other of hot chocolate and the two plates with croissants and cinnamon rolls.

She turned to look down at her chocolate, wrapping her hands around the mug, the warm porcelain felt delicious against her skin, Edward looked at her, the way her golden hair rolled down over her shoulders, and it seemed to him that her hair was brighter than those of others around Gotham, her lips twitched into a soft smile and she looked up at him.

“Before you came to Gotham, where exactly did you live?” asked Edward, the conversation now flowing between them so naturally that they had forgotten about that awkward beginning almost half an hour ago.

“Colombia” she answered, that hadn’t been the last place she had lived, but it had been a place where she had lived.

“How did you like it?” he asked, a curious frown over his face.

“I like it a lot, the food is amazing and the view is even better” she shrugged.

“What about Spanish?” he quirked an eyebrow.

“You’d be surprised how good my Spanish is” she chuckled.

“Can I hear some?”

“Um, you have to earn it first” she smiled, tearing a piece of her cinnamon roll.

“Oh wow” he raised his eyebrows “I thought I already had”

“What?” she laughed loudly, and there was that high pitch tone in her voice that he recognized from the gala, from the real laugh she had. “What made you think that, Mr. Nygma?”

“Well, I thought that this being our second date, you might have found me worthy of your Spanish, Ms. Argent” he shrugged.

“ _Oh my”_ the voice slammed into him “ _Did you really just say that?”_

Willa looked at him, her eyebrows shot up and her lips gapped just behind her fingers, she had just been pushing a piece of cinnamon into her mouth when his words had hit her.

“ _Date”_ the voice laughed loudly “ _If you had just listened to me, if you had just let me do the talking, none of this crap would be happening, but you love making a fool out of yourself don’t you, Eddie boy?”_

“This is our second date?” she asked, one of her eyebrows remaining up.

Edward looked at her, he had frozen in place, he felt like the shop had lost all its warmth and he wished, for a split second, that the voice had taken charge of this, maybe at the end of the day it had been right, maybe he should have let the voice handle it, because maybe he was indeed an expert in making a fool of himself.

A soft blush spread over his pale face, Willa smiled gently as she looked at him, he opened his lips but the blush seemed to intensify and Willa cut into his thoughts.

“Because I thought this was our third date” she shrugged, she had no idea where that had come from, but she liked it “But now that you say it, the gala was probably not the best place for a date”

“I would call that a trial date” he finally spoke, the blush was there, but his voice was steady.

“You’re right” she chuckled “Making sure we didn’t hate each other outside of work” she leaned over the table, her forearms over the edge “Because I certainly had the impression that you didn’t like me that much at the beginning”

Edward let out a short chuckle, but it felt real and it made her smile as she looked at him “Well, you are not wrong about that”

Willa laughed and leaned back, and Edward realized that while her laugh had that high pitch tone in it, he liked the way it sounded, and he felt his lips stretch into a smile as she shook her head and looked down at her pastry.

“I was thinking, Mr. Nygma” she said, she glanced up at him “That if this date goes accordingly, maybe we could go out for dinner sometime” she shrugged.

“I would like that” he answered, and he nodded back at her, his lips twitching almost invisibly into a smile that Willa saw just as it was fading and she nodded back at him.

“I would like that too”

“ _Huh, would you look at that”_ the voice whispered as Willa started talking about something else “ _I think we can keep her for a while”_

“ _I told you that disposing of her would bring too many questions”_ hissed Edward, looking down at his plate, making sure he wouldn’t call anyone’s attention.

“ _Maybe if you manned up and told me what you are really thinking, I would change my mind, but since all you have are these lame excuses”_ the voice barked “ _I think we can keep her around for a while”_

 _“Don’t start with this, not here”_ Edward growled back.

“ _Careful Eddie, you wouldn’t want to kill this one too before time, would you?”_ the voice laughed, Edward looked up at Willa, she was talking about Gotham, why she had come back.

“ _Until she no longer works with Oswald”_ he spat back to the voice, “ _It would be easier to explain her disappearance”_

“ _You say this things, almost as if they depend on you”_ the voice said casually “ _Don’t fool yourself, Eddie, I decided if she stays or leaves, don’t forget that”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ed can't have friends or nice things without Dark Ed trying to ruin everything, do you guys think she'll find out about Dark Ed? Or if anything will end up going further than 3 dates? 
> 
> Let me know everything you think!!!
> 
> Love to all <3 <3 <3


	17. Wine and Chocolate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jim has a question, Willa has an encounter

Jim stood by the window of the room, he was looking outside, the cool wind of the night filtered into the room, ruffling his hair, but it didn’t bother him, he was used to the cool wind of Gotham, after all he had been out on several chases with Harvey in the middle of the night; and to be honest, as he stood there in that hotel room, he could barely feel the cold wind.

His hands were inside the pockets of his jeans, his coat had been discarded on the table of the small living room outside the bedroom and the sleeves of his shirt were rolled up to his elbows.

“You have a really good view from here” he spoke when he heard the door of the bathroom opening up.

“Yeah, that’s what I like the most about this place” she answered, Jim looked down at the street for a few more seconds before he turned around and looked at her.

She was standing just outside the bathroom, her hair rolled down her shoulder, tied up in a lose braid, she was wearing a pair of baggy sweatpants with and a long sleeved green shirt, her hip popped to the left and her eyes over Jim, and she looked nothing like she had when they had been kids, but somehow they was she was looking at him threw him back to the time when they had been teens running around Gotham.

When it had been Gordo and Maggie against the world.

“Have you looked for apartments?” Jim asked, he turned his body and shifted his weight from his left leg to the right one.

“I haven’t actually” she sighed “But I saw a few ads on the paper” she shrugged and walked towards the bed, she sat down over the edge and looked at Jim “I’m gonna call tomorrow after giving Mrs. Faletti’s house the last touches”

Jim narrowed his eyes “Send me the addresses and names of the owners after you talked to them, ok?”

Willa raised an eyebrow and looked at Jim, she leaned back over the bed, pressing the palm of her hands over the bed and resting her weight over them as she looked at him.

“Don’t look at me like that” he rolled his eyes, he couldn’t believe how easy it had been to fall back into the natural flow of the things between them. “Just do it, ok? I’ll do a quick background check”

“Ok” she chuckled “I promise” she cocked her head to the left “Thanks”

“Always” he nodded, he looked at her for a bit longer before he glanced over his shoulder once more and out at the window.

Willa looked at him, the light in the room illuminated the side of his face, giving his hair a golden shimmer and she smiled softly, he had always been handsome, and the serious way in which he had always held himself, had an appeal that Willa was sure only Jim Gordon could pull off. And with the light falling over his face like that, he seemed younger, and even for a brief second, he looked more like the Jim Gordon she had been forced to leave behind than the Jim Gordon she had been reunited with.

“Do you like it, Gordo?” she finally asked, her voice was soft, he frowned and turned to look at her, stepping away from the window.

“Like what?” he asked.

“Working for the GCPD” she shrugged, she pushed herself forward, pulling her legs up and sitting Indian style over the soft bed.

“Yes” he answered, it was true that the job had its ups and downs, and that he had found himself making a lot of deals with criminals, let them be rich or poor, but the fact was that he liked the thrill of it, he liked the way the adrenaline shot up his body when Harvey and himself had to chase after people, he liked the respect that he had gained with his hard work.

Willa gave him a nod, she knew that if he didn’t offer more, it was that he wasn’t ready to share anymore.

“Do you like your work?” he asked, a soft frown over his face.

“I do” she nodded, she pouted for a moment “It gave me control, you know?” a small smile spread over her face “It was the only thing that I chose that gave me control over what was happening around me” and Jim hated all the words that were slipping out of her mouth, he hated her parents more, but he felt acid being fueled into his body as he thought about Cillian; Cillian would always be the worst of the lot. “And I thrived in it,” she shrugged “When everything else in my life had to change, being an interior designer remained the same” her smile grew and her eyes shined “It’s the one thing that connects Maggie with Willa, the only thing I was able to keep from Maggie”

He felt a sharp sting in his chest, it felt the way it does when hearts break.

“You know,” he frowned and made his way towards the bed, he hesitated for a moment, not sure if he should to stay standing up or sit down. “I wanted to talk to you about something”

“Of course” she nodded, her braid bouncing over her shoulder, Jim decided to sit down.

“Do you have any plans for Saturday night?” he asked, she narrowed her eyes and a soft smirk appeared over her face.

“I’m free” she answered “Why? What do you have in mind?”

“I was thinking that it would be nice if you came over to my apartment for dinner” Jim explained “There’s someone I want you to meet” and he saw the way Willa’s eyes shined.

“Is this person a significant other?” she said rapidly, inhaling with excitement and Jim was almost sure what would come out of her mouth next.

“Yes” he nodded.

“Yes!” she squealed and it sounded just the way he remembered, and despite the fact that it was a bit high pitched, he couldn’t help but smile.

This was his Maggie, she had another name, but she was still Maggie.

She was still the girl he loved.

“Yes, yes, I’ll be there” she smiled, she reached forward and took his hand, giving it a squeeze. “Now, tell me everything”

He laughed and shook his head “Willa” he looked at her, an eyebrow raised, but he knew the resisting was futile, mostly because he didn’t want to resist, he wanted to share this with her, he wanted to share his happiness with her and she wanted nothing more than to hear about the things that made his happy.

“Her name is Leslie” he started “And we met at the GCPD”

 

___________//____________

 

She walked down the aisle, her heels barely making a sound against the floor, her eyes scanning the shelves as she searched for perfection; that had been one of the things that she could still call her own, something that her parents nor her brother had had to pierce into her skin with blood and tears, and there had been so much blood.

When she had been younger, when she had lived in Gotham, she had found relief in giving people beautiful things, things that she found perfect for that specific person, and today she was walking down the aisle of the classy and homey store she had found while on her morning jog a few days ago; different chocolates and wines surrounded her, the smell of coffee was hanging heavy over the place.

She had fallen in love with it.

Willa had already picked up a bottle of wine for her date that night, she was excited, buzzing with electricity through her body and she hadn’t been able to wipe the smile from her face; this was something big, something important.

She was going to meet Jim Gordon’s girlfriend.

She stopped in front of a shelf full of dark chocolates, she narrowed her eyes, and they were from Belgium; she popped her hip to the left and with her free hand she reached to inspect the one with the blue box, she took the box and looked down at it, and with a smile she slipped the rectangular box into the basket that had been given to her when she had walked into the store.

“Maybe I should take another one” she whispered.

“Take the red one then” the voice slithered from her right side, Willa gasped, surprised and jolted to the side.

“God, you scared me” she said before she turned to glance at the person talking to her, and surprise shot through her body, her eyebrows going up. “Oh” she whispered.

“Ms. Argent” his voice was stern and his eyes were over hers but somehow, the idea of him being here had softened the way she saw him, maybe it was because he looked out of place.

“Mr. Mayor” she nodded back at him, had his eyes always seemed so intense?

“I didn’t mean to scare you” he said, his eyes drifted towards the shelf of chocolates and then turned back to her. “The red one is better”

“Really?” she smiled softly and frowned slightly before turning back to the shelf and taking the red box, she turned it over and Oswald spoke again.

“My mother loved that on” the softening tone in his voice made her look up at him.

“I’ll give it a try” she shrugged and placed the box inside her basket.

“Of course” he nodded and took a step towards her, leaning heavily over his cane, with his free hand he took one of the red boxes and leaned away from Willa.

His face looked paler than usual, his freckles popping and his hair seemed darker but somehow even with the dimmed lights of the store, his eyes seemed to shine, its deep green didn’t appear so green but still the intensity they held was unchanging.

“I’ll take one for myself as well” she turned back to the shelf and took another red box, she was going to take the other two to Jim’s place, but she had a soft spot for chocolate.

“You wont be disappointed” he nodded at her.

She looked different from the times she had been at the office, and despite the fact that elegant attires did look nice on her, something about the relax way she was looking today made Oswald a little less tense.

Willa had proven to be good at her job, she had been professional, precise, direct and Oswald had been pleased with both offices, that being said, he couldn’t help but feel a soft pressure in his heart as he stood there with her, as he remembered that Edward had been texting with her endlessly.

That she was becoming more than just an employee in Ed’s life.

But Ed had also been the reason why he had abstained himself from being rude to the young blond woman, he had seen her almost as soon as he had walked into the store, her golden hair had drawn his attention and maybe it had been the air around her, or the fact that she had with her that green umbrella, but somehow it appeared like she could pop out from almost every place she stepped in.

“ _She looks too bright for this place”_ Oswald had thought before he had approached her, and he had been nice because she was Ed’s friend and he cared deeply about Ed.

“Did the tea work?” Willa asked, cocking her head to the left.

“Yes” he answered, because it had indeed helped him with the swelling and the pain, and that had also been a reason as to why he had approached her with respect. “Thank you”

“Of course, Mr. Cobblepot” she offered him a smile and it seemed genuine “I’m really glad it worked”

“How did you know it would?” he asked, he couldn’t help the way his eyes narrowed.

“I’ve used it before, I broke my wrist and the healing process was terrible” she explained, of course she had broken more than just a wrist. “And I think people underestimate natural recipes”

 _“_ I agree” he nodded, she was right, he liked natural medicines, mostly because it meant he didn’t have to go to a doctor, but it was something.

“I have a book of natural medicines that I’ve come across from the places I’ve traveled” she shrugged and shifted her weight from one leg to the other. “Maybe you’d like to see it”

He hesitated for a moment, looking at her and analyzing the situation before he answered “I could give it a try”

“Perfect!” her smile got wider, “I could drop it by your office tomorrow”

“Tomorrow is Sunday, no one works on Sundays” he pointed out, he looked down at his watch.

“You’re right” she nodded “But this isn’t work, this is because I want you to see if any other recipe could help you” and he realized that apart from Ed and his mother, no one had ever seemed so interested in helping him with his health. “Maybe I could drop it by your house office”

His lips were parted, he wasn’t sure if she was serious or not.

“You can come after one” he finally answered, and his voice had gone back to that stern tone, but Willa didn’t mind this time.

“I’ll be there” she nodded, “I have to go now, Mr. Mayor, but it was nice seeing you and I’ll see you tomorrow”

“Of course” he agreed “Have a good evening” he said, she was about to turn around when she added.

“I’ll let you know how it goes with the chocolate” and with that she spin around and headed towards the register, Oswald watched her for a moment before he turned to the chocolates and took a blue box out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oswald seems willing to be respectful to Willa, do you guys think it suits him? More importantly, is it real?
> 
> LEt me know what you think!!!
> 
> Love to all!!!


	18. Change

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Willa meets Les, Jim is worried, Oswald is hurt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gif fest btw :D

She wasn’t going to lie, she was nervous, but that feeling hadn’t sank into her until a few hours ago, a feeling that had replaced the excitement she had felt soon after Jim had told her that he wanted her to meet someone important in his life; Jim wasn’t exactly the kind of person to talk about his feelings, to talk about his past, so when he mentioned Willa Argent, Les had realized this was a golden opportunity, this was his way of telling her that he wanted to show her part of his life, a part that was hard for him to talk about.

She just didn’t know how painful this part of his life had been.

Les looked at herself in the mirror as Jim got changed in the room.

“You look beautiful” his voice was soft, husky, Jim’s.

“Thank you” she smiled, looking at him through the mirror.

“Thank you for doing this” he whispered, his hands landing over her hips, maybe he wouldn’t get a chance to ever tell her completely what Willa meant to him, but having the opportunity for the two women he loved, to meet, that was something he wasn’t going to waste.

When he had been with Barbara, he had told her about Maggie one night, and Barbara had listened, and held his hand as he went on, he had shared his pain with her and she had taken away part of the pain to make it her own, but Barbara wasn’t part of life that way anymore, and when Maggie had showed up with her new life and new name, she had given Jim the chance to introduce her into his own life, to push away the painful memories that she had left when she had been taken away, and so they could start a new chapter as Willa and Jim.

And Jim Gordon wasn’t going to waste that chance.

“I hope she likes Lasagna” Leslie joked, her hands dropped over his and she gave him a soft squeeze.

“She loves pasta” he answered with a smile, both of them looking at each other through the mirror.

The buzzer out in the receiver rang and Leslie jolted softly in surprise, Jim’s head had turned away from the mirror and he was looking over his shoulder and out of the bathroom.

“She’s here” he said before he turned to look at her, he kissed the top of her head and with a squeeze to her hips, he pulled his hands away from her and walked out of the bathroom; Leslie watched him go through the mirror before she took a deep breath, she smooth down her shirt and turned her back to the mirror.

Jim felt like a child, waiting by the kitchen island for the doorbell to ring, he rubbed his palms over his jeans and took a deep breath, he had never felt nervous about anything that had to do with Maggie, but right now, having Willa and Leslie meet, was making his heart race.

The doorbell rang, Leslie tensed for a second in the room, as Jim pushed himself away from the kitchen island and hurried towards the door, Leslie pushing herself up from the bed and walking out of the room to finally meet the mystery woman.

Jim pulled the door open and a smile spread over his face.

“Hey” he said, his hand over the doorknob.

“Hi” she smiled back at him. “I think I’m a bit early, I’m sorry”

“Don’t be” he shook his head “I told Leslie you might be early”

“That’s one thing that hasn’t change” she shrugged happily “I can’t help it”

“I know” he nodded.

“I brought you something” she extended her left hand to Jim, a small colorful gift bag that held the chocolates and the wine.

“Thank you” Jim said, he looked down at the bag and took it from her hand “Come in, please”

He stepped away from the door and the hallway came into view, Willa looked at Jim for a moment and then stepped inside his apartment, she walked slowly down the short hallway as Jim closed the door; Willa glanced at one of the pictures on the wall, a painting, her eyes over it as Leslie came into view.

“ _She’s beautiful”_ was Leslie’s first thought as she watched Willa look at one of the painting she had bought not long ago.

“It’s from a local artist” Leslie explained, Willa’s head snapped rapidly towards her and Leslie was sure that had to have hurt.

“Hi” Willa smiled, and there was this soft look on her that if Leslie had known all the things that she had lived, she would have been surprised to see. “I’m Wilhelmina Argent” she extended her right hand out to Leslie.

“Leslie Thompkins” she said back, a smile spreading over her face as she reached to shake hands with the blond woman. “Nice to meet you”

“The pleasure is all mine” Willa said, “I’ve heard so much about you”

And it wasn’t a lie, the day Jim had invited Willa to his place, he had been unable to stop talking about Leslie, and Willa had felt so much joy in her heart, because he was happy, and he looked happy and his eyes shined and that was all she had ever wanted for Jim.

Jim watched from a few steps away, Leslie couldn’t really say she had heard about Willa, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t excited.

“Please come in” Leslie motioned for the living room.

“Thank you”

And just like that, Leslie and Jim welcomed Willa into their home.

 

___________//____________

 

“So, have you liked Gotham so far?” Leslie asked, she leaned over the table and took her glass of wine, they had already eaten both dinner and desert.

The night had gone perfect, after a few personal questions, both Leslie and Willa had drifted into a comfortable conversation and desert had gone in a shower of laughter as Willa told Leslie a childhood story of how Jim had gotten that soft scar under his chin; and Jim had watched Leslie laughing so hard, tears had gathered at the sides of her eyes and he had been sure she was a step away from bursting into confetti as Willa kept talking through giggles and Leslie laughed and Jim tried to pretend none of that had happened.

He certainly couldn’t have asked for more.

“Oh, its been great, really” Willa nodded, her face fresh from laughing. “Contrary to what I thought, work hasn’t been hard to find, thank the universe for that” she took a sip from her wine. “Not a lot of people are very comfortable with letting someone else decide what should be in their house”

“That’s good to hear” Leslie said, she set her glass down “When you go looking for apartments, let Jim know about the owners, so he can check them out” Willa smiled “You can never be too careful”

“You’re right about that one” Jim agreed, he crossed his arms over his chest, Willa glanced at him and then turned back to Leslie, when the doctor spoke again.

“Have you had any costumers we might know?”

She had heard a friend of hers, another doctor, talking about the apartment he and his wife had just bought and they were unsure of how to decorate it, maybe she could recommend Willa to him so she could help him out.

“Umm” Willa narrowed her eyes for a moment “Mrs. Faletti, she was one of my first clients”

“Oh” Leslie nodded “She’s really nice, she’s been a few times at the hospital, when her husband had a heart attack”

“Oh wow” Willa looked at her with surprise “I have only seen her husband once, but she is a really nice lady” Willa agreed “I helped out at a law firm last week, with a few desks and chairs, it was small, but it was still a really good job, well paid” she nodded and narrowed her eyes “Oh!” she shook her head, amused that she had forgotten her most important job “I finish a work at the Mayor’s office on Monday”

Jim’s shoulders tensed instantly, his eyes snapping towards Leslie for a moment, his girlfriend had frowned softly and cocked her head to the left.

“Um, you worked for the Mayor?”

“Yes” she nodded, not noticing the way Jim had tensed up “I redecorated both of his offices”

“Why hadn’t you told me about this?” Jim asked, she turned to look at him, and frowned.

“I don’t know” she answered “We never really talked about that, you know?” she shrugged “Anyway, I finish the job tomorrow, but I hope he liked it enough to recommend me with someone else he might know”

“How – how did end up working for the Mayor?” Leslie asked, she knew instantly that Jim was worried about Oswald and Willa being connected, even if it was just through work.

“Mrs. Faletti’s son in law recommended me actually” Willa explained “And then I meet with Edward and I got the job with Mr. Cobblepot”

Jim’s jaw tensed up rapidly, _“Edward”_ he whispered in his mind, not Mr. Nygma, like it had been Mr. Cobblepot, first name basis, which meant she had spent more time around Edward than she had around Oswald; Jim wasn’t sure he liked that.

“Oh, you met Edward Nygma?” Leslie asked, she had made an effort not to snap her head towards Jim, because she knew the way he felt about them.

“Yes” Willa nodded in agreement “I talked mostly to him about the job, the Mayor was too busy” she shrugged.

“You know,” Leslie started “He used to work at the GCPD”

“What?” Willa asked in surprise, she turned to look at Jim “Really? What?”

“Yeah” Jim nodded, forcing a smile over his face because this was Willa after all. “For a while, then he started working for Oswald”

“ _After Arkham”_ Leslie thought, as Willa nodded at her friend.

“He’s never mentioned that” Willa smiled, “I really can’t picture him working there”

Leslie chuckled, seeing the way Jim was tensing and Willa turned to look at Leslie “And before you came here” Leslie decided to change the subject “Where were you living?”

And the conversation flowed on a different subject, but Jim’s mind was already focused on _Edward_ , at least her work with the Mayor would be done on Monday and there would be no need for her to relate with Edward and Oswald anymore, because Jim knew by first hand that they both could appear charming and… sane, up until the darkness in both of them started to drip out of their bodies and then dead bodies gathered around them.

Jim wasn’t looking forward for Oswald and Edward being around Willa anymore time.

 

___________//____________

 

It was Sunday ten past five when Gabe had walked into his office, to surprise Oswald with the news that Wilhelmina Argent was here to see him; Oswald narrowed his eyes as he looked at Gabe, his green eyes piercing into the bigger man.

“Send her in” Oswald finally said, he was going through some paper work for one of the clubs, but that could wait, and most certainly, he needed a break.

Gabe nodded at him and walked out of the office, Oswald gathered his papers and set them inside the file he had pulled them out off, he was tired and he had worked too much, and even if he knew that much more work was needed, he also knew that he had to take a break before his back and knee started to kill him.

The door slowly opened up, and Oswald glanced at it, Willa walked inside, once more she had traded her elegant clothes for a pair of jeans and a knitted black sweater, she had a handbag dangling from her shoulder.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Cobblepot” she said, her voice was soft.

“Ms. Argent” nodded Oswald, she pushed the door close behind her and walked towards the desk, the day had been humid and she was certain that it was working nightmares on the man. “Sit down” he signaled one of the armchairs in front of his desk, one of the armchairs she had chosen for the new office.

“Thank you” Willa nodded and walked towards the chair, she pulled it out and sat down.

Oswald wasn’t exactly proud of the fact that he wasn’t in the best condition to stand up and greet Willa, but it wasn’t a lie that his knee was giving him a hard time today and she wouldn’t be here for long.

The young woman set the handbag over her lap and opened it, she looked down at it and Oswald watched as a few strands of her golden hair rolled down and framed her face.

“I’m sorry I’m here so late” she explained, she looked up at him, he raised an eyebrow at her “I was finishing some designs for a new client”

“Right” Oswald nodded, and just as she pulled a leather bound notebook from her handbag, Oswald remembered why she was actually here.

“I brought over the book I talked to you about” she looked down at the notebook, a soft smile spread over her face, drawing Oswald’s attention. “I took the liberty to mark down the ones that work better for joints” she looked up at him, a few color paper marks sticking out of a few of the pages of the book. “I hope it comes in handy” and with that she extended the book towards the man.

Oswald looked at her for a moment, her face looked fresh with just eyeliner and a soft lipstick, and then his eyes dropped to the notebook; there was a bit of hesitation in his mind, since he had been young, people had teased him, mocked him, tricked him, and there was no reason to believe that Willa wasn’t going to end up doing this.

He extended his hand and took the notebook, he would destroy her if she ended up trying to play him or mock him or humiliate him; he looked down at the book, it honey color leather was smooth, and there was a symbol over it, a bit worn down but it was still very visible, the tree of life, he knew that’s what it was called.

“Thank you” he said as he looked up at her.

“I hope it helps” Willa nodded “You can give it back when you no longer need it or when you know the recipes you like best”

Oswald nodded, he was fond of natural medicine, mostly because he didn’t like going to the hospital, so he would look over the book and then he would give it back to her; and then Willa wouldn’t have to be around them anymore.

At least that was what he was hoping.

Jealousy was a terrible thing.

“Anyway, I hope I wasn’t interrupting anything” she shook her head, and Oswald had that same thought he had had at the store when he had seen her walking down the aisles.

_“She looks too bright for this place”_ he thought “You were not interrupting anything” Oswald shook his head, when she left, he would try one of the teas, maybe it could help him sleep and ease the pain of his knee.

“Well, Mr. Cobblepot, I would…

But before Willa could finish her sentence, the door of the office was pushed open “Oswald, I was wondering… Edward said as he walked inside.

Oswald and Willa’s heads snapped towards the door, both a bit startled by the sudden interruption, and Oswald’s lack of knowledge that Edward had already returned to the house.

“Willa” he spoke, stopping just a few steps away from the entrance, his eyes over her.

“Ed” she smiled, she pushed back the chair softly and pushed herself up.

Edward frowned slightly and turned to look at Oswald “Is everything alright?”

“Yes” Oswald nodded at his friend, Edward glanced down at the book Oswald was holding before he turned back to look at Willa.

“I was just passing by to give Mr. Cobblepot a book of natural remedies” Willa explained, she held her handbag with both hands, she glanced at Oswald. “Let me know if it works”

“I will” Oswald nodded, he pressed his left hand over the hand rest of his chair, holding his cane with his other hand and pushed himself up to his feet, Edward turned to look at him and he noticed the way his lips twitched with pain.

“ _Today is a bad day”_ Edward thought about the knee, she swung her handbag over her shoulder and the words left his lips before he realized what he was saying or doing. “Would you like to stay for dinner?”

Oswald’s head snapped towards Edward, and something in his chest constricted painfully as Willa cocked her head to the left.

“Um,” she narrowed her eyes “I don’t want to intrude”

“You won’t” Edward answered, Oswald had invited Edward to live in his house a few months ago and he had never felt more at home, he pushed his hands inside the pockets of his pants, popping his hip to the left as he looked at her, and there was a soft twitch of her lips into a smile that Edward liked and then she turned to look at Oswald.

Oswald felt her eyes over him and then turned to look at her, her eyes questioning, wondering if he found it intruding if she stayed over for dinner; he looked at her for a moment before he shook his head.

“No, there’s no problem at all”

Because he didn’t want to her to stay, but this was also Edward’s house and he didn’t want Edward to think he disliked Willa, after all Edward as entitled to have any kind of friendship, even if it was with this woman who only seemed to be getting closer and closer to Edward.

Even if it hurt Oswald.

“Oh, ok” she nodded and turned to Edward. “I’d love to stay”

“Great” Edward smiled “ _Don’t look too eager, it doesn’t suit us”_ the voice growled in his mind, he shoved the thought back as hard as he could “I’ll let Ines know” and with that he turned on his heels and walked out the same way he had come through.

And none of them knew that that simple invitation would change their lives completely.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it took me a looooong time, but here it is, I hope you guys like it and let me know what you think or any thoughts about what might happen
> 
> Also, how do you guys think Willa will find out about Ed's Arkham past?


	19. No Memory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jim and Les talk, an opportunity is offered, Oswald is surprised and Edward is confronted in the dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me begin with saying I'm so sorry, my computer broke down in the middle of my vacation and I was unable to write until my brother came to meet us, so I'm here now and I hope you like this one!!!

The wind filtered into the apartment gently, inflating the curtain into an over grown bubble for a few seconds and then it disappeared back into the cool night of Gotham City; Leslie was sitting over the sofa of the living room, her eyes set over the curtain and its changing shape, for the past couple of minutes, her mind focused on something else entirely.

She frowned, pouting her lips for a brief moment before she pulled herself out of her trance and finally tore her eyes away from the curtain, she stiffened for a moment, relaxing her shoulders and then she turned partially to look over the sofa and towards the kitchen.

“Jim” she called out.

“Huh?” he mumbled, he was sitting at the kitchen island, looking down at a file from work, he stared down at the file for a few more seconds before he looked up and turned his attention towards his fiancé.

“I was thinking about Willa” she explained, she narrowed her eyes and adjusted her position over the sofa to get a better look at Jim without straining her neck, she set her arms over the headrest of the sofa and continued. “I was thinking about what she said the other night”

And Jim already knew what she meant, because he had been thinking about it all day as well.

“About Oswald and Edward?” he asked, he set down his pen over the file.

“Exactly about the” Leslie nodded, she had talked to both Edward ad Oswald on several occasions since Oswald had been elected Mayor, and despite the fact that they both seemed to appear as perfectly sane people, that didn’t mean Leslie didn’t remember what they had done before, especially because she knew that Jim still traded information with Oswald when something went down by that side of the city.

“Yeah, I’ve thinking about that too” he sighed and leaned back on the high chair “Ever since she brought it up that night, I’ve been thinking about it”

“I think maybe you should talk to her” Leslie scanned his face “Because if she didn’t know that Nygma used to work at the station, I’m betting she doesn’t know that they BOTH used to be in Arkham” she rested her chin over one of her hands and looked at Jim, her dark hair was pulled back in a braid but a few strands of hair framed her face as she looked at the man she loved. “I’m not saying that you should tell her that, you know, they’ve killed people, but maybe advise her to keep her distance from the”

“You’re right” Jim nodded, “I have to talk to her about that, just make sure she’s careful” Jim sighed once more, because part of his brain had been screaming at him to tell Willa that the Mayor and _Edward_ were not exactly what they appeared to be to the rest of the city; a city that seemed to have forgotten that Edward was a convicted murderer and that Oswald not only had murdered but had also worked for Fish and several other shady characters from the depths of the city, apparently Gotham and its people didn’t care about that as long as it wasn’t affecting them again.

As long as Oswald and Edward seemed to be hard working members of Gotham, no one really cared about the chaos and pain they had brought on Gotham once.

Because Gotham seemed to have a bad memory, and that why it was destined to repeat it own mistakes.

But of course as Jim found it disturbing that Gotham didn’t care to remember about the past of some of its most notorious residents, Willa had been counting on that when she had decided to move back to town.

 

___________//____________

 

As Oswald, Edward and Willa left the dining room and made their way towards the kitchen, Marcel Pines strode towards the room at the far end of the hallway on the first floor of his apartment, on the second floor, his fiancé was talking to her mother on the phone, and that phone call had given him an idea.

He pushed the door of his studio open and stepped inside, his visitor partially turned to look at him lazily as Marcel closed the doors behind himself and walked further inside.

“I see you’ve made yourself comfortable” Marcel snorted, pointing with this chin at the glass of Whiskey that his friend was holding.

“You were taking too long” his friend shrugged as he looked away from Marcel, Marcel rolled his eyes and walked towards the bar of the studio to pour himself a drink as well, his day had been hectic and Davina had been talking none stop about the wedding details; so much was going on with the wedding preparations that he was no longer sure what was going on with that, but as long as she was happy, then he couldn’t say it bothered him.

“You know,” Marcel started, he turned away from the bar with a glass of Whiskey in his hand and walked towards the other side of the sofa “I’ve been thinking”

“Wow, that’s new” his friend chuckled loudly.

“Fuck off” growled Marcel, he rolled his eyes once more as his friend smirked and took a drink from his glass. “Look man, you know Davina is gathering the finishing touches for the wedding” Marcel continued, “And with the date just around the corner, I’ve been thinking about a few things, and one of them is you”

His eyebrow shot up as he turned to look at Marcel “Me? Should I be flattered?”

“No” Marcel snorted “Not at all” his friend smirked “Look, let’s cut the chase here, there is no fucking way you are coming to my wedding with some random, shady looking bitch that you have stashed away” he finally said “I don’t give a shit that you take different women to galas and all that bullshit, but you are not brining one of your disposable toys to my wedding”

“Oh shit” his companion laughed, and there was no anger or resentment there, and Marcel let out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding. “You asked me to come all the way here, just for you to tell me this?”

“No” Marcel sighed “Well, not entirely” he admitted, and then the lie started to form in his tongue. “This morning Davina asked her mother for the contact information of this new interior designer around town” Marcel went on “And that got me thinking, I’ve seen thig girl man, she is a catch, she’s smart, has her own business, she’s pretty” he shrugged.

“You mean she’s everything my random shady looking bitches ain’t” his friend smiled.

“Yeah” Marcel agreed “Exactly that, I was thinking maybe you can meet this girl and see if you like her”

“Holy fuck” the chuckle resonated in the room “Is this what we have succumbed to?” You are setting me up on a date?”

“Don’t flatter yourself,” Marcel groaned, he sometimes wondered how he considered this man his best friend “She’s coming by the house tomorrow to talk to Davina, I thought you could just be here when she arrives, you meet her, and you see if you like her, if you don’t then you don’t” he shook his head “You don’t have to fucking marry her, but you have to bring someone respectable to the wedding, dude”

The two men looked at each other, Marcel watching as his friend raised both his eyebrows at him.

“Oh god, you suck the life out of everything” finally his friend sighed “Fine, I’ll meet her”

“Thank you” Marcel nodded. “She’ll be here at around ten, be here before she gets here”

“Yes, sir” he joked.

And with that, Clint Rendell nodded at Marcel Pines and then downed his Whiskey.

 

___________//____________

 

Oswald had had to admit that throughout his life, he had done things that he wasn’t exactly proud of, others he didn’t care to think and some others had brought pleasure to his life, but all in all, it had been during his young age that he had taught himself not to ever get caught off guard, he had taught himself how to not be surprised; that had been something that had saved his life on multiple moments.

But tonight, tonight Oswald was smart enough to admit that he had been surprised entirely.

Since Willa had entered into his life, he hadn’t talked much to her, he had seen her effects on Edward and he had seen her work, they had talked briefly about his knee and tonight she was here because she had cared to help Oswald feel better but there wasn’t much to say other than they had kept their contact to the bare minimum.

That had all changed when they had walked into the kitchen, Edward insisting they try the tea Willa had suggested, and then Oswald had casually mentioned the apprehension of one of the criminals that Jim had been looking for, and Willa had jumped in to talk about his political platform.

Oswald had been blown away.

“I mean, I haven’t visited Gotham for a long time but I can see its difference” she shrugged, she was sitting at the kitchen table, Oswald was at the other side, Edward had his back to them as he prepared the tea with Willa’s notebook. “And don’t get me wrong, but who would have thought that that strategy would in fact work?” she cocked her head to the left as she looked at Oswald “It required a great deal of detail and precision and trust for that kind of massive collaboration” she leaned over the island “I know some adjustments have to be made with you know, the Falcones and all that, but that’s inevitable, and seeing the way the city itself feels, I think you have started your work blowing away expectations” she nodded as she glanced back at Edward and then turned to Oswald “Congratulations, I really like the way you’re handling the city”

Oswald looked at her, she had attacked his public transportation approach, but her words, contrary to those he heard almost every day when people came storming into his office, screaming and demanding, Willa’s words had been soft but strong, she had talked about Argentina and Switzerland and she had had facts and details, and suggestions and Oswald was surprised.

But he wasn’t just surprised with the fact that she knew so much about the political world and how things could help Gotham, he was surprised at the fact that he didn’t dislike her as much as he had been hoping too.

When Edward had asked Willa to join them for dinner, Oswald had dread it with all his might, but he had also harvested in his mind the idea that if she were to spend more time in their presence, then he would be able to catch something about her that was off, something wrong about, something he could later, casually drop in a conversation with Edward and then, help the seed of disdain grow in side Ed and that would be the end of Willa.

And then he had talked about the man GCPD had arrested, and his chance of finding something wrong, something shady about Willa, simply vanished.

Not because there was nothing wrong with her, there was plenty, but because the idea simply disappeared from his mind as he heard her talk about politics and her vast knowledge about it.

He would have been even more surprised if he had known why she knew so much.

The Shays had been monsters in their own ways, so perfect to the outside world, with their overachieving son, so smart and charming that anyone felt blessed to be around him, the spectacular mother with her billboard smile and her smooth words, always willing to help, and the hard working father, who had built an empire in another country, but wanted to be with his family in Gotham, they of course had to have the breath taking daughter, she had to be smart, and pretty, and she had to know her place.

So Margaret Shay had learned politics because maybe she would end up marrying a senator, or a mayor, or a lawyer, and she had been expected to learn so many other things, because the Shays were beautiful on the outside, but under all of it, hid the darkness and the rotting monsters that only shed their human flesh once they were in the safety of their home.

“All this talk makes me wish you had moved to Gotham earlier, you would have been a great asset to the campaign” Edward said, the first he had spoken since politics had fallen into place. “Here you go, Oswald” he set a mug in front of his friend, he took two more mugs of a herbal tea and sat down next to Willa.

“Thank you, Ed” Oswald nodded at his friend, all this little things had always made Oswald’s heart beat faster.

“Thanks” Willa smiled back at Edward as he handed her one of the mugs.

The group sat at the kitchen table, Edward and Oswald talking a bit about work as Willa glanced around from her place next to Edward, her hands were cupped around her mug and the warmth spread from her fingers to her arms; the house was beautiful, gothic but amazing, and dinner had been spectacular, not to mention that although Oswald seemed reserved, she had liked to hear him talk firsthand about his political agenda and what he was doing with Gotham.

Oswald was nodding at something Edward was saying as he took a sip from his tea, Willa cocked her head to the left and scanned his face, in the required silences that were expected from her when visits came over to her house, Willa had liked to analyze people, to detail their faces.

Freckles were scattered over his pale face, mostly gathering over his long yet delicate nose, dark bags contrasted heavily with his light skin, but what called her attention was the intensity in his eyes, his clear and big eyes; she wasn’t quite sure what color they were but she was sure that tonight was the first time she had seen them light up like that, she smiled softly at that, just as Oswald caught a glimpse of her through the rear of his eyes and turned to glance at her.

As Oswald turned to glance at her, Willa looked away and down at her mug, and she could understand why his eyes always seemed so dark and stern when he was outside his house.

Because Gotham was ruthless, and Oswald had learned how to fight back, he had made himself an armor and he wore it every day when he left his house to deal with the people of Gotham, people who thought they deserved the world, but did nothing more than demand and hurt, so Oswald only found it available to relax and leave his armor behind, when he came home; and that spoke to Willa on a deep level, because she had done the exact opposite when she had lived in Gotham. Her home had been an abandoned building with Jim, and she had had to wear an armor every time she returned to her apartment.

For Oswald the monsters lived outside the walls of his house, for Willa, the monsters had been the ones to put the walls up in her house.

“Thank you for having me” Willa said as they walked towards the foyer, Oswald and her had said goodbyes at the kitchen, she had seen the strain on his knee and the last thing he needed was to talk around the house without purpose.

“Gabe will drive you home” Edward said once more, he reached for Willa’s coat.

“You didn’t have to do that” Willa said “I could have taken a taxi”

“None sense” Edward shook his head “It’s late, and I trust Gabe”

Willa turned to look at him, and smiled, he smiled softly back at her before the young woman turned and he helped her pull her coat on, as he adjusted the collar, the young woman pulled her hair up to pull it from under the coat and a thick linear scar came into view.

Edward glanced down at it, it was irregular but still linear, he could tell it was old, years of healing made it look the way it did now, and before he could say anything, her hair dropped down and Willa turned around to look at him, she had caught him staring at her neck through the reflection of one of the picture frames and she had realized that she had exposed her horrid scar without a care in the world.

“I had an accident” she explained as she looked at him, she was no longer amazed at how easy the lies rolled out of her mouth. “A car accident”

“Its ok” Edward nodded as he looked down at her. “It seems like its all healed”

“It was a few years ago” she shrugged, but there was something in her eyes. “Anyway, I had a great night, Ed, thank you”

“I hope we can do it again” he nodded, he stepped forward and towards the door.

“Me too” she walked towards the door that Ed pulled open for her and found Gabe at the other side, the car was already waiting for her.

“Let me know when you get home” he said, she turned to look at him and nodded.

“Of course” she leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his cheek “I’ll see you soon, good night”

“Good night” he smiled, she walked down the steps with Gabe and Edward watched her, her golden hair shining with the lights that lit the way towards the car, Gabe opened the door for her and she reached towards it, the young woman stopped and turned towards the door, she smiled and waved and Edward waved back, unaware that the fact that she had stopped one last time to look at him would make him feel like this, make his heart leap a bit more.

And then the car was driving away and as Edward watched it go, a soft, soft and familiar voice slithered out of its hiding.

“ _Well Eddie boy”_ it whispered, always so smooth, so controlled, so unlike him “ _I think we’ve both seen a lot to know better, don’t we?”_ Edward tensed his jaw and shook his head “ _Don’t try to fight me, Eddie, you know how that goes”_ Edward turned away and back to the house “ _You and I have both seen scars like that”_

“Stop” Edward hissed, he slammed the door close “Stop this”

“ _You know better”_

“Enough” he whispered with anger “Just let me have this for tonight, leave me alone”

“ _This isn’t about when its convenient for you to talk”_ the voice growled at him “ _This is about you knowing better than to fool yourself, we have seen scars like that before, Eddie boy”_

“No” Ed shook his head with anger, stopping in the middle of the hallway, darkness around him. “No”

“ _Say it!”_ it barked, but Ed was sure he was finding it amusing “ _Say it Eddie! Say it because I know you’re thinking it”_

“Fuck off!” Edward barked into the empty room.

“ _I’ll say it for you then, because isn’t that the way it always is?”_ he sighed “ _I always do the hard work around here”_ Ed pressed both of his hands over his temples “ _That was no car accident scar, because you know what it looked like, it looked like…_

“Like a healed knife wound” Ed finally gave in, pressing his hands hard against his head.

“ _You were right Eddie, maybe we should kept her around for a while”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know if you liked it!!!
> 
> Is Oswald gonna dilike Willa a little less? WTF with Clint and Edward, baby, this is just going to get worse for a while.


	20. Fourteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Willa remembers and goes for a jog, Ed calls in the middle of something, Jim overhears a conversation.

She would never forget it, there was no doubt in her mind, she had been sure of it the moment it happened, because you don’t forget when beautiful things happen to you, things that change you, shape you, things that touch your heart; but now that she thought back to it, now that she had gone through what she had gone, she understood that the memory was tattooed into her mind, not because it had been beautiful, but because what came months after that meeting had been incredibly painful.

But that day, with the sun burning high and the wind blowing softly through the streets of Gotham, that day as she made her way to her house after parting ways with Jim, that day she was still too young to know better.

That day she met him.

She had her hands inside the pockets of Jim’s jacket, the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, as she made her way down the street, Jim had had to leave to meet with his parents and although he had invited Margaret to join him, she had declined, assuring him that she would just walk for a while and then go back home.

Heading back home, she had decided to take the long way, she would cross through the park, probably stay there for a while, she liked to watch the people who went there, the way kids laughed and played, the way couples snuggled against each other, it made her feel like she was watching a movie.

With the nice weather there were several people out at the park, Margaret made her way further down until she found a bench where she could sit down, most of the couples and kids were by the grass, the elderly were using the benches and Maggie didn’t feel like sharing one today, last time she had been at the park without a long sleeved jacket and she had seen the way an elder woman had been eying the bruise she had over her arm.

She sat and leaned back, allowing her mind to wonder away through the green and the trees and the laughs and the kisses and the games: the beauty of imagination.

The wind picked up strength when she realized that she should be heading back home, she looked down at her watch and sighed, going back to her apartment wasn’t exactly what she was looking forward, but at least her father was away on a trip and that meant that Cillian would control himself; he always did when their mother was the only one around, almost as if he didn’t want her to see the monster her so was. She already knew anyway.

The young woman passed both of her hands through her short hair, ruffling it up a bit and then pushed herself up to her feet, she stepped towards the walking trail, and glanced one last time at the bench, making sure she had left nothing behind. She took a step forward and turned her attention to the road when he ran right into her.

Maggie tripped over her own feet and stumbled back, a soft and surprised yelp left her lips as the young man stumbled forward to avoid falling down and she crashed down onto the floor over her side, her forearm breaking the impact for the rest of her body.

She hissed as she felt her skin rip against the cement, she tightened her jaw and shifted her body, sitting down and looking down at her hands.

“Oh shit” he said, a shadow appearing above her as they both looked at the scrapped hand that the fall had left her.

“It’s fine” she shook her head, it didn’t even look that bad, and anyway, she had had worse, and this had been an accident.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you there” he explained as Maggie turned her hand over “I got lost in thought and…

“Don’t worry about it” she said, and this time she did look up at him.

He was looking down at her, his knees doubled over and a concerned look over his face, but for a moment, she forgot her hand as she looked at him. The wind ruffled his hair, he was panting softly from the jogging he had been doing around the park, and his eyes were big and the color of pure honey, and for a moment it felt like the air around him vibrated in a different frequency, he looked like no one she had ever seen around Gotham.

“Are you ok?” he asked, raising his eyebrow at her.

“Yeah, sorry” she shook her head.

“Here, let me help you” he reached out to her and his hand gently wrapped around her arm and he pulled as she pushed herself up to her feet.

“Thanks” she nodded at him, he offered her a smile and pulled his hand away from her.

“Sorry again” he looked down at her hands and a soft blush spread over his face “I didn’t mean to get anyone hurt today”

She chuckled and shook her head before she shrugged.

“It happens, you know?” she lowered her hands out of the view “But no harm done”

He shifted his position from one leg to the other and at her statement, an amused smirk spread over his lips as he shook his head, and Maggie couldn’t help but notice that his lips curved slightly crocket to the side, but that only made him even more attractive than he was before.

“I’m Clint Rendell by the way” he cleared his throat and stretched his hand out to her.

“Maggie Shay” she smiled back at him, taking his hand and shaking it firmly.

And she was fourteen when she meet him.

Those were the kind of days that you didn’t forget, when beauty shined onto you, when it felt like something in you had changed, when for a moment, your life felt easier to deal with; but if Willa had never forgotten the day she meet Clint Rendell when she was fourteen, there was no way she was going to forget meeting Clint Rendell once more, more than ten years later.

Davina lead her down the hallway, they had looked at a few things that the young woman wanted to change from her rehearsal dinner, and despite the fact that almost everything for the diner was ready, Willa had agreed to try a new combination of colors and lighter flowers for that day.

“This is amazing” Davina said “What you did with my parents apartment, that was incredible” Willa shook her head “I know you noticed that my dad is a bit of a hoarder, but with you here, the house looks better than it has in years” Davina flashed her a smile “And I was really hoping that you could help me with the living room, like I said, a few of the items don’t seem to match and with the wedding and all, I really don’t have time to go looking for new things”

“Don’t worry about it, Davina, I’ll take care of that” Willa smiled at her, she exuded happiness and she glowed every time she talked about her wedding.

“Seriously, thank god that you’re here” the woman shook her head “This city needed someone like you, you know? Someone fresh, someone new” she shrugged “Anyway, before you go, my husband wanted to meet you” she turned to Willa and Willa smiled softly “He was the one who recommended you to the Mayor”

“Oh” Willa whispered, “Um, yeah of course I’d love to meet him”

She wasn’t exactly going to refuse to meet the man who was responsible for the incredibly good paycheck that she had gotten from the Mayor’s office.

“Great” Davina smiled, “He’s in his office, like usual” she rolled her eyes. “I swear, sometimes I think that if he had it his way, we’d be getting married there” she laughed loudly, and Willa smiled at that, at the sound of the laugh of someone who is in love.

They walked up towards a door at the end of the hallway and Davina knocked on it before she pushed it open slightly and poked her head inside.

“Babe?” she called.

“What’s up, doll?” Willa heard him said.

“I want you to meet Willa Argent”

“Of course”

Willa heard a chair being pushed back and then the voice of someone else, apparently the man was in a meeting, which meant she had to do this quick and leave the couple to continue with the rest of their day.

Davina opened the door completely and turned to Willa just as Marcel Pines walked out of the studio, he was wearing a suit and a smile and he looked exactly like she pictured the man that a girl like Davina would marry; he looked serious and successful and the way he wrapped his arm around Davina’s waist and winked at her before he turned to Willa, let her know that he was also head over heels for his future to be wife.

The other voice remained in the office, Willa assumed the man was talking on the phone.

“Miss Argent” smiled Marcel “I’m Marcel Pines”

“Mr. Pines” she smiled and shook his hand. “I heard you recommended me to the Mayor”

“Oh” Pines shook his head “I did, but the credit should go to my mother in law”

“Well, I think I’ll thank both of you” Willa smiled, he smiled back at her.

“So, did my fiancé show you want she wants to change?”

“She did” Willa nodded “I told her there’s nothing to worry about, I’ll have everything ready, no need to stress about that”

“Thank you” Pines nodded “She needs to get some of that edge off her”

“Hey!” Davina chuckled playfully, Pines smiled and turned to look at her before the other voice emerged from the room.

“Oh, man, Marcel you should listen to what he said”

“Get out here” Marcel turned to the door of the studio “Come meet the miracle worker who saved my mother in law”

The laugh echoed out and Willa frowned slightly as the tone in the laugh sounded familiar.

Then he stepped out of the room and she felt like she had just been punched in the stomach.

“Oh” Clint smiled as he came to a stop next to Pines “We’ve met”

She looked at him, her throat had closed on her and she couldn’t stop looking at him, the way his eyes still looked like pure honey and the way his slightly crocked smiled made him look like the most breath taking man to ever set foot on Gotham.

How did violence and pain look like an angel?

“You’ve met?” Marcel asked, he turned to look at his friend, his hand slipping from Davina’s waist.

“Yeah” Clint glanced at Marcel “We meet at the gala” he turned to her “You were there with the Mayor’s group”

“Yes” Willa managed to answer, she was sure her voice came out like a croak, but she didn’t really care about that.

She had been fourteen when she had met him.

“ _No, no, no,”_ her mind was screaming “ _Get out of there! Get out of there! Please!”_

She had to bite the inside of her cheek to stop her lips from trembling, her mind feeling like it was going to snap, it was drowning in memories, in feelings; she couldn’t do this right now.

She wasn’t sure she would be ready to do it ever.

Willa remembered perfectly well the day she had met him, the day the air seemed to move around him like magic, the way he had smiled and joked, the way she had fallen in love with him not much after that.

But as she looked at him, the personification of a work of art, she could also remember vividly the way he had pressed his hand against the base of her neck, his eyes never leaving hers; instinctively, Willa’s hand shot up and she rubbed the base of her neck at the memory, her mind going haywire.

“I didn’t know you were an interior designer” he said, his attention on her and she realized that she needed to get out of there.

“We didn’t have time to talk about that when we met” she shrugged casually, she stiffened a smile and turned to Davina “I’ll send you the sketches, but I must go, I have an appointment”

“Of course” Marcel nodded “But thanks again for all your help”

“Nothing to worry about” Willa nodded, her heart felt like it was a step away from breaking out of her rib cage and she was having trouble breathing.

“Oh, before you go” his voice again.

“ _NO!”_ she screamed, there was no way of getting out of here without looking like a lunatic and suspicious, she turned her attention towards him and her whole body cringed and she wondered how had she not thought that Clint could still be living here.

“Could you give me your card?” he asked, he shifted his body from one leg to the other “In case I need to contact you for a job”

“ _Don’t”_ she whispered to herself, she looked at him and without thinking it, she glanced at Davina, the young woman gave her a friendly smile and Willa’s mind raced trying to find a respectful way of telling this lunatic that she would never work for him.

But, what could she say without having to offer further explanation? As far as everyone in that room knew, Clint and Willa had just met, Clint hadn’t smacked Willa, he hadn’t given her that scar on her eyebrow, he hadn’t deprived her of air while keeping eye contact.

Because he had never done those things to Willa, because Willa hadn’t been Maggie in a very long time.

“Um, sure” she whispered, she looked down at her bag and rapidly fished out a card, she stretched her hand and handed it to Clint, the man looked at her for a moment before he step forward and took the card from her hand, his fingers gracing hers.

He looked down at the card “I’ll give you a call if I ever need you”

“She’s the best” smiled Davina, Willa forced a smile on her face and turned to look at Davina.

Clint looked at her for a moment, Marcel hadn’t been lying when he had said that she was beautiful, she looked nervous, a bit tense, but she was beautiful, a bit too blond for what he was used too, but for a woman like her, he would make an exception without a second thought; she looked like a porcelain doll, and something inside him moved as he looked at her, something primal.

 _“How can he be looking straight at me and not know”_ she whispered in her mind as she said her goodbyes, almost like she herself wasn’t in control of her body anymore, Davina walking her towards the door. “ _After all he did, how can he not remember? He…he joined in and he doesn’t remember”_ she stepped out of the apartment “ _How long ago did he forget everything he did?”_ she stumbled towards the elevator, trying to breath, trying to avoid passing out in the middle of the hallway. “ _How many others has he charmed like this?”_

She had been fourteen when she had meet him.

Fifteen when he had hit her the first time.

 

___________//____________

 

She had forced herself through another pair of meetings after she had talked to Davina, after she had talked once more to Clint Rendell, but as soon as she had walked into her hotel room, Willa had been ripping the clothes off her body, throwing them behind her as she hurried towards her closet, she had pulled out her jogging clothes and before she knew it, she was out in the street, running aimlessly, pumping her legs, straining her lungs as she tried to clear her mind.

Her hair was swaying behind her on a ponytail as she rushed down a street, a soft drizzle had started to fall over the city, but she didn’t seem to care as she took a curve, her mind not really paying attention as she ran into a no end alley; the young woman stopped right in front of the brick wall and looked at it for a few seconds.

Willa was panting, sweat was rolling between her breasts, down her back, and her neck, she placed her hands over her hips and for a moment she examined the wall, the graffiti on it, the stains of paint; she sighed and turned around swiftly on the back of her heels and walked all the way back the only way to get out of the alley, she had been out for a while and the rain was falling faster.

“ _Time to go home”_ she pointed out, she took a deep breath and as she was about to start jogging to get back to her hotel, a hand shot out and grabbed her by the ponytail.

She didn’t even have time to scream as she was pulled back, a surprised gasp was all she managed as her back arched backwards and her feet slipped and her arms reached back to grab the hand that was pulling at her hair.

“Look at the pretty thing” barked the voice of the man pulling her back, he tugged at her painfully and Willa stumbled back, he was dragging her back into the alley.

“Stop!” she hissed, one of her hands had wrapped around his wrist, but his grip around her hair was tight.

“Haven’t they told you not to go prancing around alone?” he chuckled bitterly.

“Get off me!” she hissed.

“Stop fighting bitch!” he snapped, and she felt the point of a knife pressing against her back, her eyes grew in size and she stopped struggling as he dragged her in the alley.

“ _Get him off you”_ she told herself, she was panting as she tried to figure out how deep was she here, her eyes snapped around the alley, making sure that the guy was the only other person there before she moved once more.

Willa twisted her body to the right, one of her hands still over the wrist of her attacker, she turned rapidly, ready to push him away with her free hand, the man was caught off guard but he still reached out to get her. She felt the blade of the knife slicing her back and her free hand shot out to push him away from her, the knife went out to her arm and she felt the way the blade cut her skin as she pulled back and her hair slipped from his grip.

The young woman swatted the arm with the knife away from her as he threw it forward to cut her once more, the blade sliced her palm but the knife slipped from his hand and Willa took it as her chance to run, she turned on her heels as fast as she could as the man’s head shot towards the knife that had skidded away and before she knew it, she was running down the street, blood running down her leg from her back and her palm bleeding onto the sidewalk as she raced away from the alley and towards the hospital.

 

___________//____________

 

Edward stepped out of the car as he pressed his phone to his ear, he had had to go back to the house to get some papers and had taken the moment to give Willa a call, he hadn’t heard from her since early in the morning and he wanted to see if there was any chance she would like to join him for lunch the next day.

“Hello” the voice came raspy from the other side.

“Willa, hi” he said as he walked towards the door of the house.

“Um, hey Ed” she answered, he heard something at the other side. “How many do you think I’ll need?” he heard her ask.

“Excuse me?”

“No, sorry” she said “I was talking to the nurse”

Silence “The nurse?” he asked.

“Oh, yeah” she sighed, her voice sounded strained “I’m getting stitches”

“What?” Edward stopped in his tracks “You’re at the hospital?”

“Yeah” she answered, he turned to the car.

“What happened?” he asked, he couldn’t see it but she raised an eyebrow at the worry in his tone of voice.

“Someone tried to mug me” she answered, except that she wasn’t sure that the person had been trying to mug her, she had had her phone in the pocket of her pants and the man had made no attempt to go for it. “I have to get some stitches on my arm” she explained “Oh, yeah of course” she said to the person at the other side with her, to the nurse. “Look, I have to go Ed, but I’ll call you as soon as I get out of here”

“I’m on my way” he said bluntly.

“Oh no” she chuckled “Don’t worry, I’m fine, you don’t have to do that”

“I’m on my way,” he said again, there was a change in the tone of his voice, it didn’t exactly sound like him, except it did.

“Um, ok, sure” she nodded, even if he couldn’t see her, “Yeah, you know? I’d like that”

“I’ll be there in ten” he nodded.

“See you soon”

Edward turned his body completely “Gabe, get the car running!” he barked, the man looked at Edward with questioning eyes “We are heading to the hospital” he hurried back to the car, Gabe opened his mouth to say something but he saw that thing in Edward’s eyes, that iciness, that look he got just before he started to scare people, that look he got when it seemed like he wasn’t himself.

 

___________//____________

 

Jim and Harvey were walking back into the station as the rain outside started to fall harder, their coats wet but not soaking, Jim sighed as he passed a hand through his hair, it had been a long morning but at least some arrests had been made.

“If we book them now we will be able to free the holding cells for the raid Sanchez and Jobs are planning for tonight” Harvey said.

“Sounds good” Jim turned to look at him.

“Ok so it was an attack where exactly?” officer Monroe said as they passed him, “She was stabbed?” he went on, Harvey looked at him and shook his head.

“Rookies ask too much shit” he said to Jim, Jim snorted a laugh and turned to look at Monroe, he was a good cop, but he did tend to ask too much sometimes.

“Argent, right, got it” he lowered the phone.

Jim stopped on his tracks and turned around to Monroe, “What the fuck did you just say?”

“What?” Monroe turned to look at Jim, his eyes confused.

“Who were you talking to?” Jim snapped, he pointed at the phone.

“With the hospital” Monroe answered “One of the nurses is reporting an attack to a young woman down at River Avenue”

“What the hell are you doing, Jim?” Harvey asked, he shifted his weight from one leg to the other.

“An attack to who?” Jim asked, he leaned further towards Monroe, the officer glanced at Harvey, who looked just as confused as Monroe himself. “Answer me!”

“Gordon!” barked Harvey as Monroe flinched at Jim.

“Some girl, Argent is her last name”

“Shit!” barked Jim before he started to run back towards the door of the station.

“Gordon!” Harvey cried out “Where the fuck are you going? GORDON GET BACK HERE!”

But Jim couldn’t hear him as he raced to the door of the station, he shoved the doors open and hurried out into the rain and towards his car, the water rolling down his face as his right hand fished for his keys. The detective pulled the door of his car open and jumped inside, slamming the door close, he shoved the keys in the engine and before he started to drive, he dialed Willa’s number.

She hadn’t even finished answering the phone when Jim snapped into the phone.

“I’m on my way to the hospital”


	21. Closer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jim has something to say, Edward has a request.

Willa looked down at her hand, she had rested it over a small metal table, her palm turned over for the nurse who had just finished cleaning the remaining wound so she could stitch it up; the cut on the back of her arm had only required three stitches and the one on her back had had no need for stitches, but she wasn’t so sure about the wound on her palm.

“Just like your arm and your back, you are going to have to change the bandages at least once a day,” the nurse said, she glanced up at Willa briefly, Willa looked at her and gave her a short nod; the nurse looked down at the wound, she had the needle and the thread ready to start the stitching.

Willa took a deep breath, she hated stitches, she had gotten a few, but she had never needed to get them on her palm, she pressed her lips into a thin line and tensed her jaw. The nurse took the needle and Willa bit down hard when it went through her skin, she took a deep breath and looked away, she glanced around the room once more, just like she had done it when the nurse had been stitching her arm.

She pressed her lips into a thin line harder, feeling the sting of the needle against her skin, she couldn’t help but wonder how there had been a time in her life where stitches were much more usual than they should have been, right before Cillian thought that punishment shouldn’t come with ripped skin and blood, and the bruises had taken over.

“There you go” said the nurse after a few minutes, Willa turned to look at her, the nurse looked up at her and gave her a soft smile. “Try not to stretch your hand that much,” she wrapped a small piece of bandage around Willa’s hand and continued “The stitches will tug at your hand and they might snap, please be careful”

“Thank you” Willa nodded.

“Of course, the doctor will…

But her sentence was cut short with the curtain being shoved to the side, startling both the nurse and Willa.

“Willa” said Jim, his coat was wet, but at least he wasn’t dripping water.

“Jesus Christ” said Willa “You scared me”

“I’m sorry” said Jim, he glanced at the nurse “Sorry about that” the nurse shrugged and picked up the items she had used before she turned back to Willa

“The doctor said we should contact the police since you said it was a mugging, but you already know” she said as she signaled towards Jim with her head, and with that she walked around Jim and then walked away from them.

“Hey” said Jim, he closed the curtain and walked towards the chair the nurse had been sitting on, he shrugged his coat off and dropped it over it.

“Hi” she said back, her injured hand over her lap. “How did you know I was here?”

“The hospital called the station” Jim explained, he crossed his arms over his chest and shrugged softly.

“And they sent a detective for an attempted mugging?” she raised an eyebrow at him, a soft smirk over her face.

Jim rolled his eyes “I overheard an officer saying your name” she smiled at him “Why didn’t you call me?”

“Thank you for coming” Willa nodded, and for a moment she remembered the way they used to be with each other, because Jim had been the only person that had kept Willa alive and he had been the only person she had ever threatened her brother for.

“Why didn’t you call me?” he walked towards her and shifted his weight from one leg to the other.

“I didn’t think they would be calling the police” she explained.

“I meant as a friend, not as a detective” he sighed, he sat down next to her on the thin hospital bed and uncrossed his arms, he looked down at her injured hand and gently he wrapped his hand around her wrist.

“I’m don’t know” she shrugged “I really didn’t think about calling anyone” she glanced at him and gave him a soft smile, long strands of hair flopped over her face, and it was so different to see her with long and clear hair instead of the pixie cut she had had when they had been inseparable. “I just wanted to get done with this stitching, you know?”

He looked at her for a moment and smiled at her, squeezing her wrist gently. “It’s ok, are you ok? How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine” she smiled, she reached to Jim with her free hand and patted the hand he was holding her with. “It was mostly just very scary” she chuckled “And then painful” Jim chuckled and shook his head softly “ _I had forgotten what those felt like”_ she wanted to add, but decided not to, she didn’t want to make Jim tense.

“Ok, now tell me how this happened” Willa smirked and nodded.

“Sure thing, Detective Gordon” she snorted and started “I went out jogging” with her uninjured hand, she pushed away from her face the strands of hair that had flopped over her face. “And this guy grabbed me by the hair and…

“Willa?” the loud voice cut right through Willa’s sentence just like Jim had done with the nurse, the curtain was shoved to the side and Edward Nygma came into view.

Willa and Jim turned to look at him, Ed’s eyes focused first over Willa before he glanced at Jim, Jim’s jaw tensed and he pushed himself up to his feet, his hand letting go of Willa’s wrist gently.

“Nygma” said Jim, trying his best to hold back the surprise in his voice.

“Ed, hey” Willa smiled at him “That was fast”

Jim’s head snapped back to her “You called him?”

“Um” Willa looked up at Jim “No, actually” she turned to look at Ed “He called me just when I was about to get stitches”

Jim turned to look at Edward, he turned to look at him, his eyes stern and for a split second Jim noticed surprise hiding behind his eyes, and Jim was wishing that Edward hadn’t seen the surprise that had spread through his face when Edward walked in; this was certainly not what he had expected when he had heard Willa call him _Edward_ during their diner, and all the alarms in his mind and heart were ringing loudly.

“Detective Gordon” Edward nodded at Jim, he looked down at Willa and then turned to Jim, Ed’s hand was still holding part of the curtain, he tensed his neck but spoke turning his body and attention to Willa. “Is everything alright?”

“Yes” she smiled at him “I just got a few stitches for the cut on my hand and arm” she shrugged “No need for the cut on my back”

“Jesus Christ” whispered Jim, he turned to look at her “Did you get a look at the man who attacked you?”

“Not really” she sighed “I just remember he was a bit on the heavy side” she glanced at Jim “And he had curly hair, not much” she looked down at her hand before she looked back at Jim “It all just happened to fast, you know? But he did smell like cigars and bleach or detergent”

“Its ok” said Jim, he turned to her and gave her a smile, she responded to it, “Don’t worry about it, Will” Edward turned to Jim, surprised at the nickname. “We’ll look into it”

“It’s fine Jim” she shrugged “Don’t worry about it”

“You know I do” he nodded at her, so much like they used to do when they were younger, and Willa’s heart fluttered as she looked at Jim.

Edward narrowed his eyes as he looked at them, cocking his head slightly to the left as he let go of the curtain, there was something in the way they were acting around each other, they flowed, natural around each other, and a soft voice in his mind seemed to find it curious.

“I didn’t know you knew each other” Edward said, his voice soft, but Jim didn’t believe it, Jim knew the kind of person Oswald was, the kind of criminal he was, but knowing that only reassured the fact that Nygma was the kind of person and criminal that scared him more.

“Oh, yeah” Willa turned to look at him “We met a few years ago” she explained ambiguously “On a trip a did to Gotham, we reconnected now that I’m back”

“And this was an attempted mugging” Jim said, he stepped towards the chair and grabbed his coat “We’ll look into it” he added once more, looking at her, “So anything you…

His phone rang to life, everyone turning to look at Jim, Jim turned over his coat and pulled out his phone, he looked down at the screen and as he tried to avoid rolling his eyes, he picked up.

“Gordon”

“Where the fuck are you?!” Harvey snapped into the phone. “I’ve called you five times”

“I’m at the hospital” Jim answered, he glanced at Willa and Edward, the man had stepped closer to her and she was saying something but Harvey’s screaming made it hard to concentrate.

“What the fuck are you doing there?” Harvey asked “You think we have time for this? There’s a lead on the murder downtown and I need you here to go check it out, so I don’t know what the hell you’re doing there, but you better be here in the next ten minutes”

“This is important” Jim said, he turned his body.

“Is someone dead?”

“No, but…

“Then I don’t give a shit, get your ass down here now” and with that he ended the call, Jim rolled his eyes and turned to Willa.

“I have to go” he said, Willa’s head snapped towards him instantly.

“Is everything alright?” she asked.

“Yeah, just work” he explained “But call me if you remember anything”

“Of course, be safe” she smiled at him, and she wanted to say more but she held it back, she had seen the tense way in which they had looked at each other, so Willa was guessing that maybe they had ended in bad terms when Edward had been working at the GCPD.

“Of course” he didn’t want to leave her alone with Edward, but right now he didn’t have a choice, and the last thing he wanted was to confront him with her in the room. “Nygma,” he turned to look at him, Edward’s head slowly turned to Jim. “Can I talk to you for a moment?”

Edward looked at him, he felt Willa’s eyes on him, and instead he nodded at Jim, he had tried to kill Jim not that long ago, but since he was the Chief of Staff of Oswald, Jim and himself had turned civil, respecting each other and not getting in the way of the other, that being said, it didn’t mean that he wanted much to do with Jim.

Edward walked to the other side of the curtain and Jim followed, he flashed a smile at Willa and then walked away, Willa raised her eyebrow but shrugged, she wasn’t really in the mood to read into it, she wanted to go home, get a shower and forget about this day, she had had to come face to face with Clint and then she had been attacked in the street and had ended in the hospital.

Jim closed the curtain as Willa took her phone with her uninjured hand and answered a few texts she had received, he turned his attention to Edward.

“What are you doing here, Nygma?” Jim narrowed his eyes.

“Like Wilhelmina said, I called her about work just when she was about to get stitches” Edward answered, the man he was now didn’t resemble at all the man Jim remembered working at the GCPD.

“Really?” Jim snapped in a low voice “Just for work? And you came all the way here?”

“Why do you care why I’m here, **Detective**?” Edward shrugged, but there was a strange tone in his voice.

“I’m her friend” Jim answered “And I know exactly the kind of person you are” he stepped forward “So don’t fuck with me, Nygma, because as far as I can tell she doesn’t know the address of your last residence,”

Nygma tightened his jaw and Jim noticed it, and he wasn’t going to deny that he liked that, he took a step back.

“What are you getting at?” he asked “Oswald isn’t here, you can drop the act, Gordon”

“I don’t know what you’re doing here” Jim continued “And I have to go, but she doesn’t know who you are because we wouldn’t be in this situation if she did” he glanced at the closed curtain “Get away from her,” he said shaking his head slightly because this day had not gone like he had planned and now he’d have to find a way talk to Willa about Nygma, now that he had seen that this was certainly deeper than just _Edward._ “Because if you ever were to hurt her, I’d have to hunt you down and kill you” he chuckled bitterly.

“Don’t threaten me, detective” snapped Edward, he glanced at the curtain and lowered his voice. “Who I spend my time with is none of your business”

“Yeah” Jim nodded “I just don’t think Kringle would agree with that” both of them looked at each other. “Get away from her, because we both know the kind of person you are, and unless you are going to tell her about your bright career after the GCPD, I’m going to make it my business who you spend your time with” he nodded “Have a good day”

And with that he walked around Edward and down the hallway, his feet carrying him fast as he tried to get his head back into the case that Harvey was talking about, but part of him was still screaming and setting things on fire as he thought about Edward and Willa.

“ _This isn’t happening”_ he sighed before he pulled open the door of his car.

Edward pulled the curtain away once more to find Willa standing up, her injured hand was curled up to her chest, she turned to look at him and gave him a soft smile.

“Everything alright?” she asked.

“Yes” Edward nodded “His last case needs some assistance from Oswald” he explained, the tone in his voice was calm, and he wondered when had it become so easy to lie.

“Oh” she nodded “Alright” she answered, not sure if she believed it or not but she would take it for now. “I’m heading home” she explained. “I’m sorry you came all the way here for nothing, Ed, Jim called shortly after you did and I don’t know”

“Its ok” Edward walked towards her and nodded, he reached out and set his hand gently over the back of her arm. “I’ll drive you home”

“Oh” she smiled at him and leaned her body towards his touch “Sure, thank you”

“Let’s go” he said, his hand slid down from her arm and to her hand, his fingers gently slipping between hers and Willa smiled, giving his hand a squeeze.

The pair walked out of the hospital, Edward’s coat was over her shoulders as he lead her towards the car, Gabe was there waiting for them, the young woman leaned closer to Edward, this was the closer they had ever been.

Gabe pulled open the door and Willa climbed into the car, followed by Edward after he told Gabe the name of the hotel they had to go to first before they headed back home, Gabe closed the door, water drops were still falling but at least it wasn’t as hard as it had been when both Jim and Edward had called her.

Willa looked down at her hand as the car drove away from the hospital, her mind already calculating her expenses, she sighed and then glanced at Edward.

“Thanks for coming” she said again, suddenly her body felt drained from all the energy, she glanced at his lap and reached for his hand with her uninjured one.

“Of course” he answered, his thumb caressed her hand and she leaned her head over his shoulder as they drove up the street, she wrapped her other arm around the arm of the hand she was holding and scooted closer to him.

Edward looked at her, the way her body felt against his, his thumb caressing her hand, her hair against his face, and he felt relaxed, he felt the tension from his conversation with Jim drifting from his mind as he concentrated on the moment he was in right now.

The ride to the hotel felt like it lasted seconds, but that’s how it felt to Edward, but now they found themselves walking down the hallway and towards her door, still hand in hand.

Willa pulled out the card from her pocket and slipped it on the card pad and the door opened up for them, she turned to Edward.

“This is my stop” she chuckled.

“Be careful” Edward said, “Call me if anything happens”

“Let me know when you get home” she said back at him, “Thank you for driving me”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way” he answered, his voice was calm and Willa felt comfort in that, in the way he always sounded so under control.

“I’ll let you go back to your day” she nodded. “They probably need you at the office” she winked at him, and Edward chuckled softly.

“They probably do” he answered. “But I doubt they will be needing me tomorrow after six” he took his shot, Willa quirked an eyebrow.

“Really?” she asked, a small smile over her lips.

“They’ll have to deal with it if they do” he shrugged.

“Where will you be?” she asked, she shifted her weight from one leg to the other.

“Hopefully, having dinner with you” he answered, Willa pressed her lips into a thin line but her smile was visible.

“Then let them learn who to deal without you”

“I’ll pick you up at seven”

“Great” she nodded “But please,” she smiled softly “Do let me know when you get home, ok?”

“I will” he leaned forward and pressed a kiss on her temple before he was walking away, Willa watched him go, the smile still in place, and then she walked back into her room.

 

___________//____________

 

Oswald was stunned out of his work by the scream that echoed through the house, followed shortly by a door being slammed loudly; he looked up from his papers and turned his attention to his door, another scream followed and Oswald forced himself up to his feet.

“BUTCH!” the third scream followed and this time an answer came.

“Mr. Nygma”

Oswald hurried out of the office, he swung the door open and walked down the hallway, following the voices, something had obviously happened, something bad, something wrong, because there was no way Edward would be screaming like this unless something had happened.

He had tried to control it, he had tried to push it back, but the voice in his head was screaming and before he knew it, his hands were shaking, his breathing had accelerated and then he felt the control slipping away from him and that harsh voice that usually lived in his mind, was now screaming for Butch to come over to him.

“What can I do for you, Mr. Nygma?” Butch asked, he looked calmed, when Edward looked ready to lose his mind.

“Get the man you have down by River Avenue, I need them to find someone for me” Edward explained, Butch nodded “Have them look for a heavy man, maybe fat, with curly hair, his clothes probably have blood on them, he smells like cigars and bleach”

“Yes, sir” Butch nodded “What should we do when he is found?”

“Take him to the club, the basement” Edward snapped, “Do not kill him”

“Of course” Butch nodded, Oswald felt an urge to walk out and ask what was happening but he could see that Edward was in one of those _moods_ , the ones that never came out, the ones that used to scare everyone in Arkham, the ones that made it seemed like it wasn’t even him. “I’ll tell them not to hurt him”

“I didn’t say they couldn’t hurt him” Edward smirked “Just don’t kill him” he turned to leave when he added “Leave that to me” and with that he was hurrying down the hallway towards the stairs, pulling his phone out to make sure that she knew that he had arrived safely back home.

“ _What the hell is going on?”_ Oswald thought as he watched Butch walk away, his phone pressed to his ear as he called the rest of his men.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edward now knows that Willa and Jim know each other!!!!
> 
> Also, let me know what you guys think please :D :D


	22. Inquiries and Chocolate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oswald asks for answers and Maggie Shay goes for chocolate

Oswald waited for a few seconds before he started to walk once more, the last time he had spoken with Edward, the man had mentioned that things were running smoothly at the office downtown and as a matter of fact there had been a cheerful tone in his voice, which only meant that something incredibly bad had happened for Edward to start acting like this.

Today wasn’t a particular bad day for his knee, which helped him get to the kitchen a lot faster than it would have on any other rainy day, he stepped inside to find Ines working on something next to the stove.

“Ines,” said Oswald, the woman lowered the wooden spoon and turned to look at him.

“Mr. Cobblepot” she nodded back at him, the elderly woman had been working for his father for a long time before Oswald moved into the house. “What can I do for you, sir?”

“Do you know where Gabe is?” he asked, the woman looked at him for a moment before she nodded.

“I believe he is at the garage” she answered “He just came back with Mr. Nygma”

“Can you ask him to come inside? Tell him to see me at the office”

“Of course, sir” the woman gave him a soft smile and hurried out of the kitchen, Oswald watched her until she was out of sight and then he turned around and walked back the way he had come.

Oswald sat down at his desk, he glanced at the papers and his phone but before he could continue with that and then head down to the club to meet with Barbara, he wanted to find out what had happened with Edward.

There was knock on the door.

“Come in” he called out, the door swung open and Gabe walked into the office, he closed the door and walked towards the desk.

“Sir” Gabe nodded at him “Ines said you wanted to see me”

“Yes,” Oswald entwined his hands, setting them over the desk and leaning forward. “You were out with Edward, is that right?”

“Yes, sir” Gabe nodded, his hands inside the pockets of his pants.

“Do you know what happened? Why is he acting like this?”

“I can’t really say specifics” Gabe shrugged “But he got agitated after we left the hotel”

“Hotel?” Oswald frowned.

“We were driving Ms. Argent back to her hotel” Gabe explained “We picked her up from the hospital” he continued.

“The hospital?” Oswald felt so confused with what was happening that he couldn’t avoid the questions slipping out from his mouth.

“Ms. Argent was stabbed” Gabe explained, “Someone tried to mug her and she ended at the hospital” Edward had told Gabe about the mugging so Gabe could talk to his men and get on looking for the attacker. “After we left her at her hotel, he started to get… aggressive”

“Is she alright?” Oswald asked.

“A few bandages on her arm, but since she was allowed to go, I’m guessing she’s not in bad shape” Gabe answered. “He’s asking a few of our men to look for the attacker down by River Avenue”

Oswald looked at him for a few moments, he raised one of his hands and passed it over his face but nodded before he looked at Gabe once more.

“Ok, thank you” he narrowed his eyes “Let me know when you find him”

“I will sir” Gabe answered, he nodded once more and then turned around and walked out of the room, closing the door behind himself.

Oswald clenched his jaw and glanced at his phone, he hadn’t seen Edward like this in a while, and to be honest it pained him to see this happening, Edward was always calm and organized when it came to them, but now, now he was acting emotional and aggressively and for a moment, just before he remembered that Willa had been attacked, for that split moment, he wished that Edward would get like this for him.

 

___________//____________

 

The wind was blowing hard and chilly, but there were no traces of rain to come even if the sky was yet again painted with different tones of greys, Maggie glanced up at the sky as she walked lazily down the stairs of the public library, today was one of those days where she roamed around Gotham on her own.

She squinted as she looked up at the sky for a moment, hoping that there would be no rain as she made her way back to her apartment, but as she looked away from the sky and finished walking down the stairs, she realized that she didn’t really care if it started to rain while she was still walking down the street.

The young girl pushed her hands inside the pockets of her jacket and then started to walk away from the library, she liked being there when she was on her own, when she had been younger and would follow the rules of the house without question, she had had her books in the house, but then, when she started questioning what her father wanted out of her, her more personal belongings had started to be taken away from her.

“You’re gonna have to learn some way or the other, sweetie” her mother had said when Maggie had discovered that her books had been donated to the library, she had sat Maggie down on her bed and had set her hand over her lap and had had that fake smile over her face, because Maggie’s mother had given up on her daughter at an early age, always saying “Cillian was never like this when he was your age”

After her books had disappeared, Maggie had learned that if she kept her life at home simple, then her parents wouldn’t have anything to take away from her, of course then they had taken her away from the only person she had ever loved.

She was halfway down the street when she pulled out her right hand from her pocket and looked down at her watch, a small smile stretching over her face as she realized that she still had a few hours before she was expected back home, and that meant that she had time to get some hot chocolate and a pastry from the small and cozy café just a few blocks away.

After quickening her pace, Maggie reached the café faster than she had expected, when she was with Jim they usually went to other places to get something to eat, the café was more of a quiet place and the truth was that when she was with Jim out eating, they talked too much, so she came to this café on those days when Jim wasn’t able to be with her.

“Maggie Shay” smiled the woman at the other side of the register. “I hadn’t seen you in a while”

Maggie raised an eyebrow at her “It’s been four days” she smiled at the woman, the woman smiled at her.

“What can I get for you?”

“A small hot chocolate and a cinnamon roll, please” Maggie said cheerfully.

“Of course” the woman smiled, “Go get a table, I’ll bring it in a few”

“You’re the best, Amy”

“I know that” the woman chuckled, Maggie winked at her and turned to head towards one of the tables.

The young woman pulled her cinnamon roll apart, she was looking out the window as she placed a piece of the pastry in her mouth and picked up her mug, the day was getting colder but this hot chocolate would fuel her enough to get to her house.

“Maggie Shay?” the name snapped her out of her thoughts, her head turning so fast away from the window that her neck hissed in complaint; her eyes shot up at the boy staring down at her.

The golden boy.

She looked at him for a moment before she realized that she had to answer “Yes” she nodded “Hi” she shifted her body slightly “Clint, right?”

“Yeah, Clint Rendell” he nodded, he had a mug of something steamy in his hand. “How are you?”

“I’m great, how about you?” she asked, she lowered her mug and set it over the table.

“Are you on your own?” he asked, he signaled the other chair at the table with his free hand.

“Yeah, I am” she nodded, she turned to look at the chair, she opened her mouth to continue but Clint spoke first.

“May I join you?”

“Of course” she answered, her smile over her face, Clint nodded and reached for the chair, he pulled it out and sat down. “What are you drinking?”

“Tea” he answered, he looked down at it. “It’s too late for coffee”

“Really?” she laughed, she leaned back but both of her hands were around the mug. “Caffeine works on you?”

“It doesn’t on you?” he asked, an eyebrow raised.

“Not really” she shrugged and took a sip from her chocolate. “You do know that sometimes tea keeps people up as well?”

“Yeah, but not this one” he pointed out “What are you having? Coffee?”

“Chocolate” she corrected him. “What are you doing out here alone?” she looked around the café and then turned to look at him.

“Yeah” he answered “I was on my way back home” he shrugged and looked at her, her short hair was something he wasn’t really used to on girls, but he had to admit that it made her look like a fairy. “I was at my dad’s office, what about you? Why are alone?” he took a sip from his tea “Or are you waiting for someone?”

“No” she shook her head “I’m on my own, I was on my way back from the library” she explained “I thought I had time to get some chocolate before I went back home”

“And here we are” he smirked.

“Here we are” she nodded at him.

It felt natural, smooth even, the way the conversation went between them, and Clint couldn’t stop himself from smiling as they kept on talking, she was soft and delicate but there was a certain fire behind her eyes, and for the moment he could only guess that she was at least two years younger than he was.

She looked down at her watch “I have to go” she said, she looked up at Clint.

“That’s alright” he nodded, both of their mugs empty a long time ago.

“But I had a really good time” she continued, she turned to the chair next to her and picked up her backpack, “I hope to see you again”

“I’d like that” he nodded “Are you walking home?”

“Yeah” she nodded, she pushed her chair back and stood up, Clint following her lead.

“I’ll walk you” he said, he took his sweater from the back of the chair he had been sitting on.

“There’s no need for that” she shook her head “I always walk home, even when I’m alone”

“You’re not alone today” he smiled at her, shifting his weight from one leg to the other, she raised an amused eyebrow at him.

“Let’s go then”

The streetlamps had already been turned on, scaring away the darkness that was starting to fall over the city, there was a soft drizzle being scattered over Gotham as the pair made their towards Maggie’s apartment.

“Good thing to know that we were going on the same direction” Clint pointed out as they stopped to wait for the streetlight to turn to red so they could cross the street.

“Maybe we’ll bump into each other a bit more” Maggie glanced at him.

“That would be the highlight of my day”

Maggie chuckled loudly and Clint smiled as he glanced at her, her laugh had a bit of a high tone, and it had come out with a snort at first and he found it strange but he could get used to it.

“We live in the same neighborhood” Clint continued as they started to cross the street “But I have never seen you around, not even at school”

“I’m homeschooled” she explained “So, that probably explains why you never saw at school” she flashed him a smile, bruises were easier to hide if you didn't go to school and your tutors were on dad's payroll. 

“You’ve never gone to school?” Clint asked, he raised an eyebrow at her.

“No” she laughed “I’ve been homeschooled for two years, soon to be three” she shrugged “Since I was twelve”

“ _I was right”_ he nodded in his mind as he realized that she was almost two years younger than he was. “How is it? Do you like it?” they came to a stop in front of a building.

“It’s fine” she shrugged “Not that many hours at school” she explained “But it gets lonely” she glanced at the building “This is my stop”

“Well, maybe we could hang out again soon” Clint shrugged, she was nice, and funny and beautiful and he did want to see her again.

“I’d like that” she smiled at him, the light from the streetlamps was licking his face and making his eyes looked a bit more yellow that they were, but he still looked beautiful.

“Can you give me your number?” he asked, she raised an eyebrow and shrugged.

“I’ll be at the library again tomorrow after two, so let’s meet there and see how that goes” she explained “Then I’ll give you my number”

Clint laughed genuinely, this girl was weird, she was different, she seemed a bit guarded or shy, he couldn’t tell very well yet, but the way she laughed and joked and didn’t just give up to his charms, he liked that, he liked that she was feisty, that she was different, he found her interesting and now he wanted to know more about her.

“You know what?” he nodded “I’m in, I’m in for that”

“Great” she laughed “I’ll see you tomorrow after two, Clint”

“Sounds like a plan, Maggie”

She smiled and pulled the keys of the building from the pocket of her jacket, she turned to the door and opened it, Clint watching her from the base of the three small steps as she stepped into the house, she turned to look at him.

“Thanks for the walk” she said.

“Thanks for the company” he smiled back at her, she waved and he waved back before the door of the building closed behind her and she was gone.

He waited a few seconds before he started to move once more, his own apartment wasn’t that far and the rain was getting heavier, he quickened his pace but he couldn’t help but think about his meet up tomorrow, he couldn’t really call it a date since they had simply just met but she was nice and he was looking forward to see her again.

“ _Fourteen”_ he whispered in his mind, he himself was sixteen, but from what she had said, she would be turning fifteen pretty soon, “ _Two years, almost three”_ he whispered in his mind, remembering what she had said about being homeschooled. “ _She’s nice”_

And she was nice, and Clint Rendell was sixteen years old when he realized that he liked Margaret Shay.

And Margaret Shay was fifteen when he hit her for the first time.

And Margaret Shay had turned into Wilhelmina Argent, and she had never told anyone about how much Clint Rendell, the golden boy, had hurt her.

Not even Jim.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a flashback on Maggie and Clint, please let me know what you think about Clint and if you have any thoughts or theories or ideas, I'd love to hear everything :D
> 
>  
> 
> Also thank you for reading, I know I sometimes take forever to update.
> 
> Side note: Clint really isn't pretending to like her, he does think she's nice and pretty and smart, so let me know what you think happened to him. 
> 
> Love to all!!!


	23. Breathing Lemonade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Its the day after Willa was stabbed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a long chapter, pleaseee let me know what you think :D

This wasn’t exactly the kind of restaurant that he went to on a regular basis now that he worked at the Mayor’s office, mostly because he didn’t have a lot of time left on his hands to go out unless strictly necessary, but that didn’t mean that the restaurant didn’t hold a special place in his heart; the place was small but cozy, and he had never met anyone who had something negative to say about the food.

He looked at her, over their finished plates, Willa was glancing over her shoulder and around the restaurant, there was a glimmer in her eyes that he liked.

“How did you find this place?” she asked, a soft smile appeared over her face as she watched one of the waitresses walking towards a table with a tray of deserts.

“I used to come here often” he answered, she turned to look at him, raised an eyebrow at him.

“Why'd you stop?” she asked, she reached for her glass of lemonade and took a drink from it.

“A change of workplace” he explained “When I started working with Oswald, I started eating more at the office, or by the office”

“Oh!” her smile grew as she remembered what Jim and Leslie had said during their dinner together, “Yeah” he quirked an eyebrow at her “You used to work at the GCPD, right?”

He looked at her like she had just thrown the lemonade at his face, his lips gapped, his eyes wide “What?” he whispered.

“You used to work at the GCPD, am I right?” she asked once more, she leaned over the table on her arms, her eyes big as she looked at him.

“Who told you that?” he asked, he couldn’t help it but feel that his voice seemed a bit too high pitched.

Willa frowned slightly as she looked back at him “Um, Leslie Thompkins” she answered, “And Jim Gordon” she added, and his mind came in rushing in with the conversation that Jim and himself had had at the hospital, and by what he had said he knew that Jim hadn’t said anything about Arkham, but apparently he had talked about their shared work place.

“Oh” he forced himself to say, he knew Oswald had dirt on Jim, in case Jim ever intended on ruining him, but he couldn’t help the way this made him feel, knowing that Willa and Jim were this close, this close they shared information like this with each other.

“ _Yet he didn’t say anything about Arkham”_ pointed out that dark voice at the back of his mind, the same voice that had been demanding to find the man that had hurt Willa just yesterday.

“What did you do there?” she asked.

“I – I was… he started, suddenly feeling incredibly out of his element, out of control “ _Don’t stutter”_ the voice snapped “ _Control yourself, Eddie”_ he cleared his throat “I was a forensic scientist” her eyebrows shot up to her hairline.

“Wow” she smiled “That’s impressive” she leaned further over the table “Did you like it? I mean,” she shrugged “I don’t think a lot of people have the nerve to do that”

“I did like it” he nodded, it wasn’t a lie. “But in a city like Gotham, I believe there is just only so much you can see before you want to try something new” he felt the thoughts ordering themselves in his mind. “When Oswald presented the opportunity to work with him to make Gotham better, I couldn’t refuse”

She looked at him for a moment, he didn’t look as tough as other men she had met, but there was something in his eyes, something behind them that she had never seen in anyone else before she had met him.

“I respect that” she nodded finally. “Maybe if everyone got tired of seeing the horrors in the streets, and decided to do something about it, maybe Gotham would be a much better place” she smiled “We need more people like you”

“ _Wouldn’t Jim like to hear you say that”_ the voice in his mind chuckled, Edward smiled at her but had to swallow back a bark for the voice in his mind, this was not the time to be arguing, this was not the time for it to be out here, interrupting his dinner.

“Thank you” he nodded at her, a soft smile over his face, but the deception heavy in his words, if she knew how he had really come to know Oswald she wouldn’t have agreed to have dinner with him.

Not if she knew who he really was, if she only knew, she would never want to be in the same room as him.

“You know,” she started, “I was thinking maybe … but her sentence was cut short by the sound of his ringtone.

“Sorry” Edward jumped on his chair slightly, startled by the sound of the phone.

“Don’t worry about it” she shook her head, he turned to his phone, which he had placed over his coat next to him and looked down at it, ready to decline the call, when he read the name of the caller.

**Butch.**

“I need to take this” he said, he looked up at her, a strand of his hair had flopped down over his forehead and his glasses had rolled down his nose a bit.

“Of course” she nodded “Don’t worry about it” he kept his eyes over her for a moment, “The office needs you” she smiled, and he couldn’t help but smile back at her before he slid off the booth and walked towards the bathrooms to answer.

He glanced over his shoulder to make sure that he was out of sight from Willa, but mostly that he was out of hearing range from anyone else; he answered the call but didn’t press the phone up to his ear until he had pushed the door of the bathroom open and he walked inside, he closed the door and locked it.

“Hello” he said, he pushed his free hand into the pocket of his pants.

“Mr. Nygma” Butch’s voice answered back to him.

“I thought I had been clear that I wouldn’t be available tonight” he hissed into the phone “So unless this is an emergency, you have no business…

“We found him, sir” Butch cut right into his words, there wasn’t really a point in listening to Edward’s angry rant, he had things to attend to, well, more specifically, he had a man to kidnap and take to the club.

“What?” Edward mumbled.

“We found the man who tried to mug Ms. Argent” Butch explained, he was at the moment sitting behind the wheel of the car, staring at a man who was walking down the street, his hands inside the pockets of a long coat.

“Is he with you?” Edward asked.

“We have eyes on him” Butch corrected, “One of the regulars at one of the clubs knew him” Butch went on “I just wanted to let you know before we take him to the club”

“Good” Edward nodded “Do it, take him” he glanced at the mirror and looked at himself in it for a moment. “I’ll be there as soon as I can, and remember what I told you”

“Don’t kill him” Butch nodded. “Don’t worry about it, sir”

Edward hung up the phone and slipped it into his pant pocket, he looked down at the sink and then looked up at himself in the reflection of the mirror.

“ _Go”_ the voice said “ _Make something up, and go”_ but it seemed that it was barking at him.

“Are you insane?” Edward snapped, “I’m not leaving her here” he frowned “She got attacked yesterday, the last thing she needs is me leaving her here”

“ _Stop this”_ it hissed with anger “ _Drive her home, and go to the club”_ the stall was pushed open and a man dressed in dark suit walked out, Edward glanced at him through the mirror, tightening his jaw and then turned to face at himself. “ _Did I stutter, Eddie?”_

He glanced at the man behind him, the man that looked so much like him, but his voice seemed so different.

“I am not leaving her here” his hissed, he leaned forward and grabbed the sink in front of him.

“ _I am not asking”_ the other Edward said as he walked towards Edward, he sounded angry.

“I don’t care!” snapped Edward, he gripped the sink harder, making eye contact with the other Edward through the mirror. “Stop this, you are not doing this”

“ _Are you listening to yourself?!”_ he raised his voice, he was shaking, already a few inches behind Edward, none of them breaking eye contact. “ _I am not asking you to do it! Have you lost your nerve? The nerve you had for everything else? Has that gone to waste? And for what, Eddie? HUH?! For what?!”_ he was screaming at Edward now, Edward closed his eyes with anger, his knuckles tuning white as he gripped the sink, his arms shaking, he dropped his chin over his chest, opening his mouth to take in air. “ _This is what we discussed…_

_ _

“ENOUGH!” Edward roared, he opened his eyes, his eyes shooting daggers as he looked at the other Edward. “Lost my nerve?” he hissed, his voice shaking with anger, but he did not stutter. “I have lost my nerve? Who was the one screaming yesterday? Demanding that Butch take action? Who?!” he glared at the other Ed on the mirror “Don’t say I have lost my nerve when you can’t even bring yourself to answer a simple question” his grip on the sink started to soften “I am not leaving her, and if you fight me on this, you will never see her again, and I will make sure of that”

“ _If you do that, you will never see her again either”_ he pointed out.

“I’ll take that before you leave her alone when she needs me, when I intended on her to have a good night” Edward spat, “I will not do that to her just because you want to have some fun back at the club” he took a deep breath “Do you understand? And don’t make this about me, I’ve heard the way you talk about her, the tone in your voice” he let go of the sink and turned around “Don’t pretend you are doing this for me, because you wouldn’t have lost your shit like that for anyone!” he pointed at the man. “Back off and let me handle this”

The other Edward looked at him with a mixture of shock and anger flowing through him, Edward held his ground as he looked back at him.

“Now back off, I will deal with this” he took a step forward and the other Ed took a step back “You can step up later” he glanced at the door and then back at him “When she is not here”

The other Ed tightened his jaw and restrained himself from saying anything else, instead, he turned around and walked back to the stall he had come out off and disappeared; Edward waited for a moment, staring at the stall before he took a deep breath and nodded, he passed both of his hands over his face and then turned towards the door, he turned the knob and stepped out.

Willa glanced over her shoulder and towards the bathrooms, Edward had been gone for a while, she bit her inner cheek as she placed her hands over the table, playing with the napkin as she looked around the restaurant.

“ _That must have been an important call”_ she thought, by the rear of her eyes she caught movement by the door and lazily she turned her attention towards it, the place was filling up real quick.

A couple had just walked in holding hands, but the woman with the short hair was glancing around the place just like Willa had when she had walked in with Ed, the woman next to her was smiling at the hostess, and asking for a menu.

Willa narrowed her eyes for a moment, she cocked her head for a moment, her eyes over the woman with short hair, the woman scanned the place when her eyes fell over Willa, the blond was frowning but as their eyes met Willa’s heart jumped in her chest.

“ _No!”_ she screamed.

Those eyes, those eyes were something no one could ever forget, the green and the dark brown eyes stared back at Willa, and she felt her jaw started to quiver; the woman frowned slightly as she looked back at Willa.

“ _Erica”_ she whispered in her mind, her hands in her lap gripping at her long skirt.

Both women stared at each other, one knowing full well who the other was, the other having a sense of familiarity spreading through her body.

Willa gapped her lips as they looked at each other, Erica frowned deeper, about to take a step forward when a waiter crossed right in front of her and the spell was broken, Willa’s head snapped towards her purse and she grabbed it rapidly, collecting her things just as Edward walked back up towards the table.

“I’m sorry about that I …

“I need to go” she stumbled with the words, she pushed the chair back loudly and cringed inside, knowing full well that Erica had turned to look at her, why couldn’t this have been like Clint? Clint had seen her and had decided that he liked what he saw, but that had been it, Erica had looked at her and Willa had seen the doubt in her eyes, she had seen the question forming in her brain.

 _“Do I know you?”_ and the longer she had stared at her, the longer the probabilities that Erica recognized her, because Erica had been a lot of things in their teens years, but that girl had a memory that could put anyone to shame.

“What?” asked Ed, “Is everything ok?”

“No” she shook her head, she snatched her phone from the table, making an effort to keep her face covered with the curtain of her long hair. “I need to go”

“Willa, what is happening?” he looked at her with concerned, he leaned forward but Willa started to move, she stepped around him with agile feet.

“I need to go” she said again, she hugged her purse to her chest and her feet started to race towards the door, people were staring, she was making a scene, she was forcing Erica’s eyes over her more than they should, but she couldn’t help it.

“Willa!” he called, trying to reach out to her, but she scurried towards the door, Ed watched her for a moment before he pulled his wallet out of his pocket, he opened it and threw a $100 dollar bill over the table before he grabbed his coat and raced towards the door that was just shutting close behind Willa.

“What the hell?” Erica’s girlfriend chuckled “Bad date”

“Yeah” Erica whispered, she watched as Edward slammed the door behind himself, she narrowed her eyes and turned to her girlfriend “She looked really familiar”

“Really?” Nora frowned “Maybe we’ve seen her at one of the events of the office”

“Maybe” Erica agreed, but something in the back of her mind was not convinced.

Willa stumbled away from the restaurant, she felt like she couldn’t breathe, like the air was there but it was just not going inside her lungs, her right hand grabbed the collar of her cardigan as she took a deep breath through her mouth, her heart was racing, her head was spinning, she was losing control.

“Willa!” Ed called as he rushed behind her. “Wait!”

She could barely hear him.

He reached out, his hand wrapping around her arm and she came to a stop, she turned to look at him, her eyes huge almost as if she was seeing him for the first time in her life, her lips were gapped and she was gasping air through it hard, he knew that kind of breathing could lead to hyperventilation.

“Willa?” he whispered, she opened her mouth and took a deep breath, her free hand reached out and grabbed his arm, she was looking at him but he wasn’t sure she was seeing him properly. “Listen to me” he said, he wasn’t sure what he was even doing, but he couldn’t let her continue breathing like this.

She tried to speak but her words weren’t forming and her lungs weren’t gathering air, and tears were forming in her eyes.

“ _SHE KNOWS ME, SHE KNOWS ME, SHE KNOWS ME!”_ her mind was screaming on repeat, she tugged at her collar, she couldn’t breathe.

“Listen to me” he said, his voice was calm, but his mind was going haywire, “Can you hear me?” she nodded at him, her grip on his arm getting stronger. “You’re going to be ok, breath with me ok?” he let go of her arm and with his hand he reached for the hand she was holding his arm, he wrapped his fingers carefully around her wrist and gave her a soft tug, her hand released his arm and he slowly pressed the palm of her hand over his chest. “Like this ok?” his eyes were over her “It will be over in a few, just keep breathing”

He felt her fingers starting to curve over his chest, his hand slid from her wrist up to the back of her hand and gently pressed down “Like this,” he took a deep breath.

She felt the way his chest went up and down, and even if she knew that she wasn’t doing that, her body started to mimic it, her fingers relaxed under Edward’s hand and her eyes lowered down to his chest as her own started to regain control, as the air started to flow through her.

“Yes, perfect” he nodded, his eyes relaxing and a soft smile appeared over his face, his hair ruffled up by the air. “You’re doing great” and her lips quivered into a smile as she looked up at him.

It felt eternal, but it was over in seconds.

“Yes” she whispered.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, his eyes searching hers.

“Yes” she whispered again with a nod “Ok”

“You did great” he smiled a bit wider “That was great”

Her lower lip trembled and when she blinked she felt the tears rushed down her face, this couldn’t be happening, she screamed in her mind, they had been out having dinner and now she was crying in the middle of the street.

“I’m sorry” she mumbled “I’m so sorry” she pulled her hand away from his chest and released his arm.

“Don’t be” he said, his hands went out to her arms, they slid up to the back of her shoulders and he stepped closer to her. “Nothing to worry about” he wrapped his arms around her, Willa tensed up for a moment and then her body molded against his and she leaned her forehead over his shoulder. “You’re ok” he whispered, the wind blowing around them coolly.

She passed her arms around him and took a deep breath as she held him against her, it had been a while since this had happened, she thought she had it under control, but evidently enough, she didn’t; when she had returned to Gotham she had assumed that a lot of the people she used to know would still be there, but from all the people in the world, she had had to come across only with Erica and Clint, this couldn’t get any worse because her brother was already dead.

“I’m sorry” she said again, part of her needed to give him some kind of explanation “I just thought I saw someone I knew, and, um… she pulled away from Ed, he looked at her, his hand sliding towards her uninjured hand, “Um I had a really bad experience with her” she explained “Incredibly bad”

“I understand” he nodded at her, maybe he didn’t understand completely, but it wasn’t up to him to decide how people felt about others.

“I didn’t mean to scare you” she offered him a shy smile.

“Don’t worry about me” he shook his head and gave her hand a soft squeeze, “You want to go for a walk?”

“Not really” she shook her head, “But, um… she glanced over his shoulder for a moment and then back at him “Maybe we could go for a ride?” she shrugged “It might rain”

“Sounds good to me” he smiled, she smiled back at him and shrugged.

“Maybe you can teach me one of your riddles?” she gave his hand a tug. “Or tell me how you became so good at them”

He chuckled loudly and she smiled wider at him, a soft blush that couldn’t be seen with the poor lighting of the streets, spread over his face as he nodded.

“When you say it like that” he smirked “How can I resist?”

“I was hoping you wouldn’t” she chuckled lightly, her body slowly leaving behind the tension it had built when she had raced out of the restaurant.

“Gabe is just up the street” Edward said, “I’ll call him to come down”

“Don’t worry” she shook her head “Let’s just walk up there, I can almost see the car from here”

“Oh, of course” he nodded, he glanced up the street over his shoulder, he hadn’t been sure if she wanted to go by the restaurant again, and like that they walked up the street towards the car that was waiting for them.

“I really liked your restaurant” she said as they reached the car, hand in hand.

“We can come back any time” he said, Gabe reached to open the door. “After you”

“Thank you” she climbed inside and Edward turned to Gabe.

“Drive around town until I tell you a concrete destination”

“Yes, sir” he nodded, Edward nodded once at him and then climbed into the car, Gabe climbed in and like he did every time that Oswald or Edward had anyone else in the car, he rolled up the glass diver and started the car.

“Can I see your hand?” he asked after a few minutes, Willa turned to face him.

“Sure” she extended her hand out to him, the bandage was around it, he took part of it and rolled it off her hand.

“How does it feel?”

“I try not to stretch it too much” she shrugged “Don’t want to pull any stitches, but its fine”

“Good” he nodded, he covered up the hand again. “It will heal in no time”

“Let’s hope so” she shrugged, she quirked an eyebrow as she looked up at him.

“What?” he asked, a soft frown over his face.

“Your hair is a bit all over the place” she smiled, holding back a chuckle “Can I?” he hesitated but nodded in agreement, she leaned forward and her hand went up to his hair, she pushed it back softly with her fingers, Edward watching her by the rear of his eyes. “Ok, turn towards me” He turned his body for it to face her better and she smiled at him “Yeah, that’s more like you”

“More like me?” he asked.

“Yeah” she shrugged with one shoulder.

“What does that mean?” he asked.

“You know” she chuckled softly “With your hair like this” she pushed his hair back with both of her hands, softly, gently, he turned his face to her, and her breath got caught in her throat as she looked back at him.

They were inches away from each other, her hands hoovering over his head as he took in the details of her face being so close to him, the dim lights from outside gave her a more serious look as they passed by different streetlights, her hair looked like pure gold; Willa stole a glance down at his lips and then gently she leaned forward.

His lips were soft, and he tasted like the red wine he had been drinking at the restaurant, and she had a mix of lemonade and chocolate brownie in her lips as she closed her eyes and her hands dropped from his hair to the sides of his face; Edward’s hand instantly shot out to her, one falling over her hip and the other over her knee, he pulled her body closer to him by her knee and he felt her hands holding him harder, one of her hands had dropped from his face to the back of his neck.

She felt delicate, her lips soft and smooth as she opened up her mouth for him and despite the squeeze he had given to her waist, he wasn’t in a hurry, it was gentle and somehow he felt intoxicated by the way she tasted, by the way her fingers were spreading through his hair on the back of his head, by the way he felt her lips curl into a smile.

The voice in the back of his mind went limp, almost as if it had never been there in the first place, and Edward allowed himself to be devoured by the sensation of being wrapped around the feeling of peacefulness.

She broke away from the kiss first, just enough to get some air, but her hands were still around him and his hands were still holding her closer to him, like maybe if he let go, she would vanish with the night; with her lips parted she looked down at his lips for a moment before she looked up at him, her forehead pressing onto his.

There was nothing to say, no need for words at the moment, he smiled softly back and her before she pulled her forehead away from him and her uninjured hand left the back of his head and she reached towards him.

“We should get these” she whispered, “Too bad if I take them off?” she asked.

“No” she gently pulled the glasses of his face and set them over his lap. “Better?”

“Yeah” she pressed her forehead back against his, she cupped his face and her thumbs caressed his cheeks, he closed his eyes, embracing the feeling of her fingers against his face.

He took a deep breath and opened his eyes, her fingers still over his cheeks, one of her hands rolled down and her thumb graced his lower lip softly, giving it a gentle tug before her hand went to the curve of his neck and then behind it; Edward moved his head partially towards her touch and then he leaned forward and he pressed his lips against hers, Willa closed her eyes and opened her mouth and pushed herself closer to him.

And as Gabe drove up the street, not even the voice at the back of Ed’s mind could argue against the way her lips felt against his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, that first kiss finally happened, also I don't know what you guys think about what you know, Dark Ed thinks or anything, so let me know!!!
> 
> I hope you like it!!!


	24. A Little More to Talk About

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edward makes a mistake without knowing it, Jim has somethings in mind.

The corridor was dark but he was used to it, Edward had become adjusted to the dim lights on an early age, and when he had still been working at the GCPD and he had been living in his small apartment, he had mastered walking around with small amounts of lights, so as he hurried down the stairs that led to the basement, he had no trouble finding the steps, while Butch behind him had slowed down his pace.

The music from the club upstairs could no longer be heard as Edward reached a door guarded by another man that worked with Butch.

“Mr. Nygma” the man next to the door nodded. “He’s inside”

Edward didn’t say anything, instead he marched towards the door, the man next to it, too the doorknob and pushed the door open for Edward, and without missing a step, he walked into the room.

The sight that appeared in front of him was surely one that would have surprised him and scared him on the days when he had been working at the GCPD, but those days now felt like they were a lifetime ago, like they had been lived by someone else.

“Close the door” said Edward without turning to look back at the door, his eyes were over the man in front of him.

There was a string of dried blood starting from the lower that run down to his chin, staining his three old beard as his head hung over his chest, he was tied up to a chair and if it hadn’t been by Edward’s observation skills, he would have thought the man had passed out, but the way his chest was rising and falling, told him different.

Edward’s eyes drifted towards the small desk that stood close to the chair and the man, it was something that Butch had left there for him, just like he usually did when Edward asked him to take someone down to the basement of the club.

He walked towards the desk, his hands behind his back, “What’s your name?”

There was no answer.

Edward took an item from the desk and turned to look at the man, this was sending a different thrill, a different rush through his system, he narrowed his eyes as the man continued to remain on the same position. Usually when Butch or any of the other men that were on Oswald’s payroll, brought someone to the basement on his behalf, they were stuttering, mumbling, saying that this was a mistake, that they were sorry, to please be forgiven, that it wouldn’t happen again.

Very few decided to remain silent, now he just had to figure out why.

And that was the best part.

“I guess we can do without that” Edward shrugged, at the end of the day that didn’t really matter, the end result of all of this wouldn’t change even if the man gave him answers, and the truth was, that after what Butch had said when Edward had arrived to the club, Edward knew that none of his answers would matter anyway.

“I think he’s new in Gotham” Butch had explained, following Edward closely. “None of our men, nor our contacts, have ever seen him, or heard of him” he had continued. “That’s why it was so easy for them to recognize him, he stood out”

Edward stepped towards the man, and in a swift move he knelt down in front of him “I heard that you are new in Gotham”

Still no answer, but the man shifted one of his feet slightly, the movement not going unnoticed by Edward’s trained eyes.

His eyes glanced down at the feet of the prisoner, and slowly he pressed the item, the tip of the blade, over the man’s leg and he started to trace it up, as his eyes snapped back towards the covered face of the man.

“I hope that no one is waiting for you, where you come from” Edward continued, and if Oswald would have been there, he would had heard the change of tone, the way it was now icy and stern and not like Edward.

At least not like the Edward everyone was used to seeing and hearing.

The blade reached the spot just above the knee and Edward stopped moving it, he turned the blade slowly, and then pressed down to cause discomfort but not to wound; this time the man’s head did snap up.

Their eyes met instantly, a pair dark and a pair clear, and Edward’s lips twitched.

“What’s your name?” he asked again, his eyes seemed darker, clouded by something behind them, and the man could see in Edward’s eyes the purest form of madness that he had ever seen.

“Fuck you” he whispered, and Edward understood what was fueling his previous silence.

Edward’s smirk grew but it also became a bit more strained, a second before he plunged the blade into the man’s leg, just above his knee.

He screamed, because at the end of the day, they all screamed.

Edward twisted the blade twice, the man gritted his teeth, panting and tensing his body as the pain shot through him like an electric current, Edward pulled the blade out of the man and the man gasped loudly, his head dropping forward, saliva dripping down his lips as Edward looked at him; blood gushing down to the floor.

“You’ve come to me at a really bad time” Edward explained, he pressed his hand over the wound and pushed himself up to his feet, the man grunted with pain. “You see, I’m trying to do this less and less, and yet people like you insist on testing my patience” he played with the blade in his hand, walking around the chair, to place himself behind the man.

He grabbed the man’s hair and yanked his head back with force, this gave him a rush, an excitement that he really was trying to hold back, he couldn’t give himself the freedom to do these things whenever he pleased.

The man felt the blade slide over his neck, but he focused his eyes over Edward’s face, the blade continued its road down until it had reached the space between his clavicles and he felt the pressure start again; he knew what was coming, there was no need to pretend, he had seen his fair share of crazy in his line of work, and truth be told, he wasn’t surprised that this had ended like this.

Edward pressed down hard enough to draw blood, but continued doing it as the red beads appeared under the man’s shirt; he pulled back and released the man’s hair.

“Do you not understand what we are trying to do in Gotham!?” Edward asked, and the man could hear the tone in his voice was holding onto sanity by a thread; he grabbed his hair once more and yanked back as hard as he could, the neck of the man straining painfully.

The poor light of the room shined against the blade as Edward brought it down rapidly, piercing between the clavicles, pushing the blade as far down as he could.

“You don’t get to come to MY city and do this” he pulled back the blade but part of it snapped, Edward didn’t seem to notice as the man growled with pain, blood splattering up to him, staining the sleeves of his shirt. “And do this!”

The man was gasping, blood gushing out, his body shaking as Edward raised the broken blade once more and brought it down once more, and again and again; the grip on the knife slipped with the stickiness of the blood, but that didn’t stop Edward, his screams had turned incomprehensible, but his strike was precise.

Precise enough not to deliver a killer blow, but still enough to cause damage and pain.

“Fuck you!” the man snapped once more, yes, he had been sure that his days would come to an end in a violent way, but this was something else, he wasn’t sure how he had ended up in this particular basement with this obviously insane man.

“You shouldn’t have come here” Edward snapped, the blade went down to his stomach this time, he grunted harder, this wasn’t gonna last long, he knew that. “You shouldn’t have messed with us” Edward shook his head for a moment “Stay out of it” he hissed, the man narrowed his eyes, even with the pain shooting through him, he was pretty sure that that wasn’t meant for him. “You had your share” Edward shook his head once more.

He shook his head harder, his hands going up to it and he pressed them against the sides of his head, the blood coated knife staining his hair as he hissed with anger and took a step back

“ENOUGH!” barked Edward, with that he shook off the last of the argument and reached towards the man, he grabbed his hair with force and pulled back, with enough strength to tilt him back as he cried out in pain and then he crashed on his back over the floor.

He felt the air being sucked out of his body as Edward crouched next to him, the back of the chair had hit his back roughly as he had been pulled back, and despite the pain that was washing over his body, his mind couldn’t help but keep on screaming that this man was something beyond what he had encountered before.

Edward passed a hand over his face and up through his hair, the blood beads that had rained up to him when he had stabbed the man, smeared over his pale skin, but he didn’t seem to notice as he looked down at the man strapped on the chair.

The man opened his eyes and looked at Edward, blood was gushing out of his chest and his knee, the knife, despite the rage in Edward’s eyes, had never struck a precise place that would pull him out of this torture.

“You came here at a really bad time” Edward explained, his voice was strained, and the man could see that Edward was holding back something that he was sure he didn’t want to see. “You see,” he licked his lip, and cleaned away a small bead of blood that had fallen over his upper lip. “You came to my city, and you went to the streets to try and rob and mug and stab” Edward dropped the broken blade next to the man and pushed himself up to his feet, he walked towards the tool desk and picked up a screwdriver, he turned to look at him and shrugged “And then you tried to rob the wrong person.” he played with the screwdriver on his hands and then walked back to the man, he crouched next to him. “A friend of mine,” he explained, the man glanced down at the screwdriver that Edward was holding before Nygma reached to him and pressed the side of the flat screwdriver over the side of the man’s face. “He holds certain feelings for this woman you attacked on the streets, so you might see the problem we have” Edward drew the screwdriver up to the side of the nose of the man “And it wouldn’t be right to just let you walk out of here after what you have done to her”

The man tried to pull his head away but Edward’s hand shot out to him and he grabbed the man by the root of his hair, pulling his face towards the screwdriver, he looked down at him and their eyes met, and despite the pain that Edward could see in his eyes, the defiance was still there.

He frowned as he looked up at Edward, all through his life he had met people who were questionable, people who were not what they seemed, but this man, this man who talked to himself and who tried to hold back that shine in his eyes when he had been stabbing him, Edward was something that he had never seen before.

He was the definition of pure madness.

“The blond girl?” he mumbled, the blood had rolled towards his neck and down to the floor and his chest was throbbing painfully, and his knee was screaming.

Edward cocked his head slightly to the left “The blond girl” he agreed.

The man narrowed his eyes as he looked at Edward, and Edward could see confusion in his eyes, his lips gapped and trembling with the pain that was swallowing his body whole, Edward frowned softly as he looked at the man, this was already stretching too far and it was toying with Edward’s last threads of patience.

“You are making a mistake” he said, his voice laced with a tone of pain.

Edward tightened his jaw and slid the screwdriver towards the man’s cheekbone, Edward’s frown got deeper and the man knew what it meant.

“We’ll see to that” snapped Edward, and the screwdriver slid rapidly up his cheekbone and the tip of the tool pierced with force and strength into the man’s eyeball; the scream erupted from the man’s throat as Edward pushed the screwdriver further into his eye; he pressed his lips into a thin line and held the screwdriver with both hands and he pushed harder before he twisted it twice and the screams slowly died out.

And with the handle of the screwdriver almost halfway inside the man’s eye socket and his skull, Edward released the screwdriver and looked down at the unmoving body.

“Or better yet, I’ll see to that” he whispered before he pushed himself up to his feet, he passed his bloody left hand over his face and pushed back the strands of hair that had flopped over his face when he had been handling the man; he looked at the dead man for a few seconds.

Death was something that had never bothered him to be exact, when he had been working at the GCPD he was around it all the time, and for a while he had been incredibly content with his job, but now, after the other Ed had come forward, he found that death not only didn’t bother him but that bringing death was something that ignited a spark in his soul that couldn’t be turned off now.

He raised an eyebrow at the dead man and then turned on the ball of his feet, the adrenaline was rushing through him, itching through his body, feeling the warm blood over his skin was a part in all this that he had found exciting after a few kills, but he didn’t have time for that, he had things to do, and he couldn’t waste time with an early dead and nameless man.

Edward walked towards the door, he grabbed the doorknob and pulled it open, Butch and the other man where still there, waiting for him, none of them surprised to see Edward come out stained with blood; they had already seen it several times.

“Get him out of here” Edward said, he looked at Butch, the man nodded at his boss. “I heard the GCPD are looking for him,” he fixed his jacket “Throw him out into the street”

“Yes sir”

And that last order as Edward walked past the two men and headed towards the stairs, was the first mistake in a series of upcoming bloody events.

 

___________//____________

 

A soft drizzle was falling over Gotham early in the morning, rendering the beginning of the day a bit darker than it should have been at that hour, Jim had the collar of his long coat popped up, his shoulders tense and a hat over his head as he walked next to Harvey, who was wearing his coat just like Jim and a hat a bit darker.

“Who found him?” asked Jim as he glanced at Harvey, a passing police officer handed Harvey an extra umbrella, the man looked down at it as he opened it to give both Jim and himself some shelter of the uncomfortable rain.

“A woman who works at a bakery down the street” Harvey answered “Saw his shoes sticking out the alley” he continued “The responding officer took her statement”

“Is he one of our cases?” asked Jim, he pulled his hands out of the pockets of his coat and rubbed them together as they walked towards the place where the body was.

“Not our case” Harvey shook his head “But Cardozo thinks he might be one of your cases” shrugged Harvey.

“What?” Jim frowned and turned to look at his friend, both of them walking together under the umbrella.

“They think he’s the mugger you were looking for” Harvey answered, he had been pissed when Jim had left to attend the call at the hospital, but when he had returned and had explained to Harvey that it was something personal, that the victim was in fact a friend of his, Harvey had understood.

Jim’s eyes grew for a second before he dipped from under the umbrella and hurried towards the group of police men, he pushed away a man and stared down at the body that had been found earlier that morning.

“Jesus Christ” whispered Jim.

The body was visibly mutilated, his chest was exposed and several puncture holes could be seen, the blood washed away by the rain during dawn, but what drew all the attention was the fact that one of his eyes was missing, his eye socket visible butchered.

“We have bagged all the evidence we could find” explained one of the cops, Jim turned to look at him, “They have been sent to the station”

“Thank you” Jim nodded, but his mind was somewhere else.

“The wounds are fresh” explained a woman, member of the CSI group. “All of them probably inflicted before he was killed” she pointed at the eye wound “That’s the wound that killed him”

“I would have guessed that one” Harvey nodded, he had walked up to them, still holding the umbrella and looking down at the dead man.

“Get him to the station” Jim said, he frowned as he turned his attention from Harvey to the dead man. “Get his prints and a photo of him, I want his name and address”

“Yes, sir” they said, Jim nodded and stepped away from the scene, Harvey following him.

“That looked wrong” Harvey said, voicing what Jim was thinking.

“Yeah” Jim agreed, he turned to Harvey “We need his picture and a trip to the Mayor’s house”

“You think they might know who he is?” asked Harvey.

“Probably” Jim nodded. “But first we need to talk to Oswald about one of his employees”

“Butch?” asked Harvey as they started to move towards the cars.

“Nygma”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dark Ed trying to fool himself into thinking he doesn't like Willa a tiny bit


End file.
